# Central Hinds

The Central Hinds are the women's representative cricket team of Central Districts Cricket Association, based in central 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 formerly 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.
The Major Association team is the only female team to draw players from both the main islands of New Zealand.
Central Districts joined the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield for the 1979–80 season and finished 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 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 competition in 2009–10, with the final rained off and therefore winning the title 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. 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 were runners-up in the 2023–24 Super Smash, making the final for the first time since 2016. They lost to Wellington by one run (DLS) off the final ball of the match.

## Grounds

Central Districts' 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, since 2021–22, Saxton Oval, Nelson, and play both their home and away Super Smash matches as double-headers with the Central Stags.

## Players
### Current squad

Based on contracted squad announced for the 2024-25 season. Players in bold have international caps.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||||
| 18 | Hollie Armitage | England | (1997-06-14) 14 June 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Overseas player |
| 21 | Emma McLeod | New Zealand | (2006-03-28) 28 March 2006 (age 18) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | CDCA contract |
| 88 | Kerry-Anne Tomlinson | New Zealand | (1990-01-19) 19 January 1990 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | CDCA contract |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 23 | Georgia Atkinson | New Zealand | (2000-04-23) 23 April 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | CDCA contract |
| 27 | Ocean Bartlett | New Zealand | (2003-06-27) 27 June 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | CDCA contract |
| – | Priyanaz Chatterji | Scotland | (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| 26 | Flora Devonshire | New Zealand | (2003-02-13) 13 February 2003 (age 22) | Left-handed | Left-arm off break | CDCA contract |
| 4 | Mikaela Greig | New Zealand | (1995-04-22) 22 April 1995 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | CDCA contract |
| 25 | Ashtuti Kumar | New Zealand | (2003-07-19) 19 July 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | CDCA contract |
| 6 | Thamsyn Newton | New Zealand | (1995-06-03) 3 June 1995 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | CDCA contract |
| 74 | Hannah Rowe | New Zealand | (1996-10-03) 3 October 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | NZC contract |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 19 | Kate Gaging | New Zealand | (2001-07-19) 19 July 2001 (age 23) | Right-handed | — | CDCA contract |
| Bowlers |||||||
| 34 | Aniela Apperley | New Zealand | (2004-09-12) 12 September 2004 (age 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | CDCA contract |
| - | Grace Foreman | New Zealand | (2005-03-04) 4 March 2005 (age 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | CDCA contract |
| 2 | Anna Gaging | New Zealand | (2001-07-19) 19 July 2001 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | CDCA contract |
| 20 | Claudia Green | New Zealand | (1997-12-06) 6 December 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | CDCA contract |
| 7 | Rosemary Mair | New Zealand | (1998-11-07) 7 November 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | NZC contract |

### 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