Central Hinds

The Central Hinds are the women's representative cricket team of Central Districts Cricket Association, based in central New Zealand. The Major Association team is the only female team to draw players from both the main islands of New Zealand. They play their home games at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North, Saxton Oval, Nelson and McLean Park, Napier. They compete in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and the Women's Super Smash Twenty20 competition and were originally known as Central Districts Women.

History

Central Districts Cricket Association comprises eight District associations: Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua- Kapiti, Manawatu, Taranaki, Wairarapa and Whanganui in the North Island, and Marlborough and Nelson in the South Island.

Central Districts first joined the national Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in the 1979–80 season, finishing fourth with one win and three draws. In 1982–83, they finished second for the first time, behind Canterbury, who dominated the period.

The Central Hinds won their first title in 2005–06 (when the national women's one-day competition was named the State League), finishing second in the group stage before beating Canterbury in the final - helped by three wickets from Zara McWilliams and 55 * from Sara McGlashan. They were the runner-up in 2007–08 before winning their second one-day title in 2009–10, with the final rained off and lifting the trophy as they had topped the group stage. They also won their only Super Smash title the same season, beating Auckland in the final by eight wickets.

The Central Hinds won their third one-day title in 2018–19, topping the group stage before beating the Auckland Hearts in a home final at Pukekura Park. Central Hinds batter Natalie Dodd was the leading run-scorer in the competition, with 652 runs.

Dodd and then-captain Anlo van Deventer set a New Zealand women's List A partnership record (all wickets) of 328 during the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, for the second wicket against the Otago Sparks at Fitzherbert Park on 3 March 2019.
In December 2019, Dodd and Jess Watkin set a national first-wicket record in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield with a partnership of 216 at Karori Park, Wellington.

The side was runner-up in the 2023–24 Super Smash, making the final for the first time since 2016. They lost to Wellington by one run ( DLS) on the final ball of the match.

Grounds

The team's first primary home ground was Manawaroa Park, Palmerston North, with some matches played at Ongley Park in the same city.

In the 1990s, the side began playing at Victoria Park, Whanganui, as well as Fitzherbert Park in Palmerston North. In 1998, the team began playing in Napier, especially at Nelson Park, but also later at McLean Park. From the 2000s, their primary grounds were Pukekura Park, New Plymouth and Fitzherbert Park, along with stints at grounds such as Queen Elizabeth Park and Cornwall Park, Hastings.

Since 2020–21, the Central Hinds have primarily used Pukekura Park, McLean Park, Fitzherbert Park and (from 2021–22) Saxton Oval, Nelson, and play both their home and away Super Smash matches as doubleheaders with the Central Stags.

Players

Current squad

* Number denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
* denotes players with international caps.

Notable players

Players who have played for Central Districts and played internationally are listed below, in order of first international appearance (given in brackets):

* Viv Sexton (1978)
* Linda Fraser (1982)
* Di Caird (1984)
* Rose Signal (1984)
* Liz Signal (1984)
* Jackie Clark (1984)
* Penny Kinsella (1988)
* Trudy Anderson (1993)
* Karen Musson (1993)
* Delwyn Brownlee (1995)
* Clare Connor (1995)
* Helen Daly (1996)
* Rebecca Rolls (1997)
* Rachel Pullar (1997)
* Kate Pulford (1999)
* Donna Trow (1999)
* Hannah Lloyd (1999)
* Paula Gruber (2000)
* Erin McDonald (2000)
* Emily Travers (2000)
* Aimee Watkins (2002)
* Sara McGlashan (2003)
* Eimear Richardson (2005)
* Rachel Priest (2007)
* Rachel Candy (2007)
* Abby Burrows (2009)
* Natalie Dodd (2010)
* Kate Ebrahim (2010)
* Liz Perry (2010)
* Esther Lanser (2010)
* Kerry-Anne Tomlinson (2011)
* Thamsyn Newton (2015)
* Hannah Rowe (2015)
* Jess Watkin (2018)
* Priyanaz Chatterji (2018)
* Rosemary Mair (2019)
* Rebecca Burns (2022)
* Mikaela Greig (2024)
* Hollie Armitage (2024)
* Emma McLeod (2025)
* Flora Devonshire (2025)

Players who have played for Central Districts and played internationally in sports other than cricket are listed below:
* Kendra Cocksedge - rugby union
* Liz Perry - field hockey double international
* Rebecca Rolls - association football double international

Honours

* Hallyburton Johnstone Shield:
** Winners (3): 2005–06, 2009–10, 2018–19
* Women's Super Smash:
** Winners (1): 2009–10

See also

* Central Districts cricket team

References

{{Cricket in New Zealand

Women's cricket teams in New Zealand
Cricket in Central Districts
Super Smash (women's cricket)