The Otago Sparks is the women's representative

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

team for the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

region of Otago and the surrounding area. They play their home games at University Oval,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. They compete in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and the

Women's Super Smash The Women's Super Smash, known for sponsorship reasons as the Dream11 Super Smash, is a women's Twenty20 cricket competition organised by New Zealand Cricket. The competition began in 2007–08 and features six teams, who play each other twice ...

Twenty20 competition. They are the current holders of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, having won the 2021–22 competition.

History

Otago made their first appearance in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in 1939–40, where they lost to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. The following period was dominated by

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and

, however, and Otago did not record a second-place finish until 1957–58. They finished second again in 1960–61 before finally winning their first title in 1962–63, winning two matches and drawing one. In 1967–68, Otago competed in the Australian Women's Cricket Championships, finishing fourth out of five. Otago did not play in major competition between 1983–84 and 1997–98. Some Otago players instead played for Southern Districts, which competed between 1983–84 and 1987–88. They returned for the 1998–99 season, but finished bottom of the one-day competition points table. Otago won their second one-day competition in 2013–14, finishing second in the group stage before beating Auckland in the final, helped by 99 from captain Suzie Bates and winning by 3 wickets off the penultimate delivery. They won their third one-day competition in 2021–22, finishing second in the group stage to qualify for the final, before beating group winners Wellington in the final by 138 runs. Otago have also competed in the

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

Super Smash since its inception in 2007–08, finishing second in 2014–15 before winning the title in 2016–17. They finished second in the group stage in 2016–17, but beat group winners

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in the final, with Suzie Bates scoring 74 and

Kate Heffernan Kate Alexandra Heffernan (born 7 October 1999) is a List of New Zealand international netball players, New Zealand netball international and former cricketer. She represented the New Zealand national netball team at the Netball at the 2022 Comm ...

taking 4/21. Otago bowler

Leigh Kasperek Leigh Meghan Kasperek (born 15 February 1992) is a Scottish cricketer who plays internationally for the New Zealand national team. She previously played for the Scottish national side, but switched to New Zealand in order to play at a higher l ...

was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 8 wickets.

Grounds

Otago played their first home Hallyburton Johnstone Shield match at University Oval,

, and the ground has remained the side's primary home ground throughout their history. They also used Logan Park and

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, r ...

, also in Dunedin, until the early 2000s. From 2005, the side began using Molyneux Park, Alexandra and in 2007 Queens Park,

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. In the 2017–18 season, they also began using Whitestone Contracting Stadium,

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...

. In 2021–22, the side primarily used University Oval, as well as playing two games at Whitestone Contracting Stadium and three, for the first time, at

Queenstown Events Centre Queenstown Events Centre, John Davies Oval, or Davies Park is a multi-purpose sports complex and stadium located in Queenstown, Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. History Opened in 1997, the venue is located on Queenstown Lakes Di ...

Players

Current squad

Based on squad announced for the 2022–23 season. Players in bold have international caps.

Notable players

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

Marge Bishop Marjorie Claire Bishop (3 January 1910 – 26 January 1960) was a New Zealand cricketer who played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm off break. She appeared in one Test match for New Zealand, their first, in 1935, and ...

(1935) *

Merle Hollis Merle Hollis (22 May 1915 – 31 August 1980) was a New Zealand cricketer who played primarily as a right-arm Fast bowling, medium Bowling (cricket), bowler. She played in one Women's Test cricket, Test match for New Zealand women's national cric ...

(1935) * Helen Allan (1935) * Esther Blackie (1949) *

Eris Paton Eris Annie Paton (9 October 1928 – 23 November 2004) was a New Zealand cricketer who played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium. She appeared in four Test matches for New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Ao ...

(1954) *

Betty Sinclair Elizabeth Sinclair (3 December 1910 – 25 December 1981) was an Irish communist organiser. Early life Born as Elizabeth Margaret Sinclair at 44 Hooker Street in Ardoyne, Belfast on 3 December 1910, Betty came from a Church of Ireland family a ...

(1954) *

Mary Webb Mary Gladys Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927) was an English romance novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people whom she knew. Her ...

(1957) * Daphne Robinson (1961) * Trish McKelvey (1966) *

Louise Clough Aletha Louise Clough (born 24 June 1937) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as an all-rounder, bowling right-arm medium and batting right-handed, as well as playing as a wicket-keeper in four matches. She appeared in one Test match for ...

(1969) * Carol Marett (1972) * Jan Hall (1982) * Gillian McConway (1982) * Shona Gilchrist (1984) *

Catherine Campbell Catherine Anne Campbell (born 20 July 1963) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a right-arm off break bowler. She appeared in 9 Test matches and 85 One Day Internationals for New Zealand between 1988 and 2000. She stood in as capta ...

(1988) *

Clare Taylor Clare Elizabeth Taylor (born 22 May 1965) is an English sportswoman, the first woman to have played on a World Cup team in both cricket and association football, football. She represented England at both cricket, as a member of the winning 199 ...

(1988) *

Pauline te Beest Pauline Jantina te Beest (born 13 February 1970 in Haarlem) is a Netherlands cricketer who played in three Women's Cricket World Cups in England (1993), in India (1997) and in New Zealand (2000). She had one season for the Otago Sparks in the St ...

(1990) * Jill Saulbrey (1995) * Rachel Pullar (1997) * Paula Flannery (2000) * Rowan Milburn (2000) *

Amanda Green Amanda Green (born December 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. In 2021, she was elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the first woman to hold the role in the Guild's 100-year history. Early life and edu ...

(2003) *

Alex Blackwell Alexandra Joy Blackwell (born 31 August 1983) is a former professional cricketer who played for New South Wales Breakers, New South Wales and Australia national women's cricket team, Australia as a specialist batter. In October 2017, she made h ...

(2003) *

Katey Martin Katey Jane Martin (born 6 February 1985) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper and right-handed batter. She appeared in one Test match, 103 One Day Internationals and 95 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand between 2 ...

(2003) * Beth McNeill (2004) * Suzie Bates (2006) *

Sarah Tsukigawa Sarah Jane Tsukigawa (born 16 January 1982) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium. She appeared in 42 One Day Internationals and 19 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zeal ...

(2006) *

Lynsey Askew Lynsey Riann Frances Askew (born 3 September 1986) is an English former cricketer who played as a right-arm Fast bowling, medium Bowler (cricket), bowler and right-handed Batting (cricket), batter. She appeared in eight Women's One Day Internati ...

(2006) *

Laura Marsh Laura Alexandra Marsh (born 5 December 1986) is an English former cricketer. Born in Pembury, Kent, she began playing cricket at 11 and started her career as a medium pace bowler but found greater success when she switched to off spin. She playe ...

(2006) * Emma Campbell (2010) *

Morna Nielsen Morna Jessie Godwin Nielsen (born 24 February 1990) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. She appeared in 52 One Day Internationals and 44 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand between 2010 and 2016 ...

(2010) *

Kate Ebrahim Kate Ellen Ebrahim (; born 11 November 1991) is a New Zealand cricketer. In August 2018, she was awarded a central contract by New Zealand Cricket, following the tours of Ireland and England in the previous months. In October 2018, she was named ...

(2010) * Beth Langston (2013) * Nicole Bolton (2014) * Hayley Jensen (2014) * Felicity Leydon-Davis (2014) *

(2015) *

Amanda-Jade Wellington Amanda-Jade Wellington (born 29 May 1997) is an Australian cricketer. She bowls right-arm leg spin and plays for the South Australian Scorpions in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) and the Adelaide Strikers in the Women's Big Bash Leag ...

(2016) *

(2018) *

Alice Davidson-Richards Alice Natica Davidson-Richards (born 29 May 1994) is an English cricketer who plays for Kent, South East Stars and Northern Superchargers. A right-handed batter and right-arm pace bowler, she made her county debut for Kent in 2010. She made he ...

(2018) * Marina Lamplough (2019) * Shebani Bhaskar (2019) *

Hannah Darlington Hannah Joy Darlington (born 25 January 2002) is an Australian cricketer who made her debut for the national women's team in September 2021. A right-arm medium-pace bowler, Darlington is the current captain of the Sydney Thunder in the Women's ...

(2021) * Natasha Miles (2021) * Eden Carson (2022)

Coaching staff

*Head Coach:

Craig Cumming Craig Derek Cumming (born 31 August 1975 in Timaru) is a former New Zealand cricketer. He played for New Zealand in One Day Internationals and Tests. He played domestic cricket with Canterbury and Otago. Domestic career Cumming is a right-h ...

Honours

* Hallyburton Johnstone Shield: ** Winners (3): 1962–63, 2013–14, 2021–22 *

: ** Winners (1): 2016–17

Notes

References

{{Cricket in New Zealand Women's cricket teams in New Zealand Cricket in Otago Super Smash (cricket)