Allround Peterson stars for Auckland Hearts

She can bat, she can bowl. Anna Peterson did both and helped Auckland Hearts down Northern Spirit in their Super Smash clash on Sunday (December 22) at Seddon Park.

Peterson, captaining the side and batting first, got Hearts off to a flier with opener Lauren Down. The pair brought up the fifty inside the power play. Down, who scored 33 in 24 balls, was the first one to depart, falling with the score on 81. They had taken just nine overs to raise the stand. Soon, Peterson fell with the score on 102. She had struck eight fours and a six in her 47-ball knock where she made 61.

Katie Perkins then took over, finishing unbeaten on 35 in just 25 balls, and ensured Hearts finished on five for 167. Lauren Heaps, the left-arm spinner, picked up three wickets for 32 runs for Spirit.

In reply, Spirit didn’t get to the best of starts. The 40-run partnership Felicity Leydon-Davis and Kate Anderson was the best in their innings. While Leydon-DaviAs finished on 33 in 34 balls, Anderson made 29 runs in 24 balls. The entire chase was a slow progress and eventually Spirit were restricted to 136 for six.

Peterson starred with the ball picking up three for 32. Apart from her Fran Jonas returned with a couple of wickets, to ensure that Hearts won by 31 runs.

Brief Scores: Auckland Hearts 167/5 in 20 overs (Anna Peterson 61, Katie Perkins 35*, Lauren Down 33; Lauren Heaps 3/32, Charlotte Sarsfield 2/30) beat Northern Spirit 136/6 in 20 overs (Felicity Leydon-Davis 33, Kate Anderson 29; Anna Peterson 3/32, Fran Jonas 2/24) by 31 runs.