New Zealand: Effort with bat hailed (25 January 1999)

25 January 1999

New Zealand: Effort with bat hailed

The Christchurch Press

Batting legend Debbie Hockley savoured Canterbury's "comprehensive team victory" more than her own virtuoso century in the national women's cricket competition final.

Hockley played an archetypal captain's knock, scoring a whirlwind 141 from 129 balls to lead Canterbury to another national title.

Hailed as the best women's cricketer in the world, Hockley also took three wickets for 11 runs as Auckland was bundled out for a paltry 65.

Hockley's innings -- almost certainly a national limited-overs record -- was proclaimed by former New Zealand captain and leading administrator Lesley Murdoch as perhaps the greatest batting display she had seen.

Canterbury coach Lindsay Thorn also praised "a sensational effort by Debbie".

But Hockley, herself, initially parried the plaudits.

"I felt like I was certainly hitting in the air a lot freer than I've done all season," she said.

"(But) what did I actually get?" she asked The Press after the State Insurance Cup was presented.

When told the telling statistics, she admitted it was one of her best performances.

"I'd say it would have to be. I don't usually score at better than run-a-ball.

"But what I enjoyed most was that we had a comprehensive victory. Obviously, it was helped by having a really good total, but the catching was excellent and the bowling was pretty good and it was a real team performance.

"We've got a lot of batting in this team, and if I hadn't come off, somebody else would have."

It was Hockley's third century of the summer and took her runs aggregate -- already the best in the league -- to 514 from nine matches.

Hockley admitted she was "knackered" after her marathon batting effort, but had no compunction about bowling six overs as Canterbury's first-change.

"I wasn't too bad once I got going. If I'd been too tired I wouldn't have risked it."

The Auckland rout preserved Hockley's proud record of having never played on a losing Canterbury national championship team. She played for North Harbour the year Canterbury missed out on the national title.

Thorn marvelled at Hockley's performance with bat and ball.

"She was exhausted when she came off (after batting), but she still kept running twos right to the end.

"Her mental toughness is just exceptional."

Source :: The Christchurch Press (https://www.press.co.nz/)