Cricket: Canterbury's finals stunner surprises even their coach

Even Canterbury women's coach Kirsty Flavell admitted to being surprised at the ease of her team's emphatic 10-wicket win over Auckland in the State League final in Christchurch.

"I don't think we envisaged having to chase only 128 runs to win," said Flavell of the moderate total mustered by Auckland from their 50 overs.

Nor could Flavell have expected opening batswomen Philippa Gerrish and Maria Fahey to so confidently knock off the winning runs by the 35th over and make Canterbury outright national champions for the first time in six years.

Auckland never got into the game after Canterbury new-ball bowlers Helen Daly and Sarah Burke both captured early wickets.

There was some resistance from experienced internationals Emily Drumm and Rebecca Rolls and a brief final flurry by Helen Watson and Natalee Scripps, but Auckland struggled to average more than two runs off the bat per over.

"We had a plan to bowl more off-stump today," Flavell said. "We had done that on the second day of our round-robin and felt it was more effective than attacking the stumps.

"In the overcast conditions this morning we were getting the ball to swing quite a bit."

Daly conceded only seven runs from her opening seven-over spell. Spinners Rebecca Steele and Serena Charteris also had the Aucklanders in chains as, between them, they permitted just 23 runs in their 18 overs.

Medium-pacer Beth McNeill chimed in with the valuable wicket of Drumm, caught at point when driving, while Rolls, probably the one batswoman who could have tipped the balance, top-edged a catch to short mid-wicket when sweeping at Steele.

For Canterbury, Gerrish hit nine fours and scored her 65 runs from 116 balls. Fahey faced 92 deliveries for her 34, with four fours.

Only the hardworking Scripps, in her two five-over spells, provided any real challenge among the seven bowlers used by Auckland.

Gerrish was named Player of the Match by the New Zealand selectors, who tomorrow announce the White Ferns team to play a three-match Rose Bowl series in Australia and defend the World Cup in South Africa in March and April.

- NZPA