Wairarapa duo vital - coach

Wairarapa-based duo Esther Lanser and Eimear Richardson have been featuring prominently for the Central Districts Hinds in their national one-day and Twenty20 women's cricket competitions
They have been regular players in the team coached by Masterton's Doug Bracewell, who sees their all-round skills as vital components in a side which, because of the loss of three of their more experienced campaigners, was always going to struggle to repeat the success of 2009-10 when they won the two national titles.
Not that another title is beyond them. Going into the last series of matches this weekend, they are sitting second equal with Canterbury Magicians behind the Wellington Blaze in the Twenty20 competition and if they can win one - or even better both - of the games being played against the Blaze in Palmerston North tomorrow and Sunday, then a grand finals berth is very much a possibility.
In the one-day competition, the situation is somewhat different, with the Hinds having won only one of their four games there.
They will play the second-placed Blaze in that format in Palmerston North on Saturday, but even victory there won't be enough to give them any chance of defending that title.
Bracewell is loathe to predict with any certainty just how his side will fare against the Blaze in the two Twenty20 games this weekend, not through any doubts he has about their ability to rise to the occasion, but simply because of the nature of the shortened version of the sport.
"It's the sort of game where a little bit of luck can go a long way and you can never be sure which team is going to be the most fortunate in that respect," he said.
"A couple of spectacular catches or run outs can make all the difference to the end result."
In Black Fern Sophie Devine, the Blaze have a batswoman who is widely regarded as the biggest hitter in the world of women's cricket, and Bracewell is well aware of the danger she will pose if she gets into full stride.
"She's the key wicket for us, no doubt about that. Getting her early is hugely important."
That spinners Lanser and Richardson will be two of the bowlers used by the Hinds against Devine and company is guaranteed as they have performed well in that department. Lanser has six Twenty20 wickets to her credit and Richardson eight, with the latter providing the individual highlight of her team's 33-run win over the Magicians, when she claimed 5-17 from her 4 overs.
For Lanser, the frustration from this season's domestic programme has been that her batting has lacked consistency. She has regularly filled the opener's berth in the one-dayers and runs had proved hard to come by until her last match against the Magicians when she scored 53 off 96 balls. An unbeaten 27 also against the Magicians in one of the Twenty20 fixtures provided further hope her lean trot was at an end.
"It was nice to get some decent runs on the board, there hasn't been enough of them lately,"
Lanser said yesterday.
The former Wairarapa College pupil came back into the Central Districts squad after a busy off season, which saw her playing at international level for the Netherlands. She has already represented them in matches against Ireland, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sir Lanka and Scotland and will join up with them again in April, when they participate in a tourney in Sri Lanka.
Lanser described the standard of women's cricket in the Netherlands as "pretty average" with many of the population there having basically no knowledge of the sport whatsoever, but she said the number of women players was growing, particularly in the younger age groups.
"There is certainly no shortage of enthusiasm from those involved, it's just a matter of channelling that in the right direction and I think that's starting to happen."
Lanser and Richardson actually locked horns when Netherlands played Ireland in a one-day game with Richardson opening the batting for Ireland and being clean bowled by Lanser for 21. Results-wise though Richardson had the last laugh with Ireland winning by three wickets.