Central Hinds to host Auckland Hearts in domestic one-day final

Central Hinds, by defeating Otago Sparks, have secured a home final for themselves. They will be hosting defending champions Auckland Hearts, who will be eyeing another championship trophy. In the last round of New Zealand's domestic one-day competition, Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, Hinds defeated Sparks, while both Wellington Blaze and Canterbury Magicians bounced back to reverse the results from the last round.

Central Hinds beat Otago Sparks by 247 runs

Hinds registered a record-breaking 247-run victory over the Sparks. Batting first, the Sparks struck early to dismiss opener Jess Watkin for a duck. However, from there, the Hinds dominated. Natalie Dodd and skipper A. van Deventer put on a whopping 328-run partnership that was broken only on the last ball, when the former was run out. Dodd scored a 151-ball 142, while van Deventer hammered 169* off 148 deliveries. Their partnership broke the national List A domestic record, male or female. Hinds finished their innings on 339-2, E. Black claiming the only scalp and effecting the last ball run out as well.

After dominating with the bat, Hinds continued to do so with the ball too. Skipper C. Blakely top-scored with a fighting 56-ball 29, as the Hinds took regular wickets. M. Greig was the destructor-in-chief, claiming 5-15, as the Sparks were bundled out for 92, inside 30 overs. Watkin also claimed three scalps, as only four Sparks batters reached double figures, while T. Hurley and C. Green took a wicket each. Sparks suffered a crushing defeat, falling 247 runs short of their target.

Wellington Blaze beat Auckland Hearts by six wickets

Batting first, the Hearts line-up struggled, falling to 18-4. A 109-run stand between S. Shahri (89) and J. Prasad (52) then helped stabilise the innings. However, once the wicket of Prasad fell, Hearts stumbled from 127-5 to 195 all out. Three batters were dismissed for ducks, while only two other batters could reach double figures. As a result, Hearts could only reach 195 in their allotted overs.

J. Kerr was the pick of the bowlers for the Blaze, taking 4-38, while D. Doughty and R. Burns took two wickets each. In the second innings, a 78-run opening stand between L. Doolan (33) and Burns (52) got their team off to a solid start. An unbeaten 58 from captain E. Perry, and a valuable 25 from Thamsyn Newton then guided her side home in the 42nd over.

Canterbury Magicians beat Northern Spirit by six wickets

After suffering a defeat at the hands of Spirit in the previous round, the Magicians bounced back to claim the win. With their top four all dismissed within 38 runs, Spirit batter E. Richardson anchored the innings with her 41. After she too fell, M. Hyde (49) and C. Sarsfield (20) put on a 64-run partnership. However, it was not enough as the Spirit were bowled out for 176 inside 47 overs. Erin Bermingham collected four wickets for just 19 runs, while J. Simmons took two scalps.

In their reply, Magicians lost opener N. Cox early, before a 62-run second-wicket partnership got the chase back on track. When the partnership was broken, the Magicians lost two wickets in quick succession. Kate Ebrahim's unbeaten 88 and A. Mace-Cochrane's 31* then saw their side over the line in the 36th over, as the Magicians claimed a six-wickeg