Wellington Blaze, led by skipper Amelia Kerr, were up against Central Hinds, led by skipper Hannah Rowe, in the 2nd game of the ongoing edition of the Women’s Super Smash 2025/26 on 27th December 2025.
Xara Jaitley and Hannah Francis cameos propel Wellington Blaze to 136/5
The Blaze openers, Georgia Plimmer and skipper Amelia Kerr, got them off to a solid start with a 74-run opening stand after the Wellington skipper won the toss and opted to bat first at the Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North. Claudia Green got the big scalp of the opposition skipper, Amelia Kerr (34 off 34 balls), to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for Central Hinds around the halfway mark in the innings. The bowlers bounced back, reducing the Blaze to 108/5 in the 17th over of the innings. Wellington lost their next four wickets for just 34 runs.
However, handy cameos from Xara Jaitley (21* off 19 balls) and Hannah Francis (13* off 11 balls) provided a decent finish to the innings as the Wellington Blaze posted a total of 136/5 in their quota of 20 overs. Georgia Plimmer (39 off 29 balls) top-scored with the bat for the Blaze, while Maitlan Brown (12 off 12 balls) played her part with the bat for her side.
Claudia Green (4-0-20-2), skipper Hannah Rowe (4-0-26-1), and Ashtuti Kumar (3-0-16-1) were impressive with the ball for the Central Districts.
Clinical bowling show gives a remarkable win for Wellington Blaze in a thriller
Chasing a target of 137, Central Hinds lost their top order inside the first seven overs of the run chase. Flora Devonshire joined skipper Hannah Rowe at the crease, and the duo led some sort of a recovery with a much-needed 20-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Another 31-run partnership for the 5th wicket between Kerry-Anne Tomlinson and Flora Devonshire brought them back on track in the run chase.
The departure of Kerry-Anne Tomlinson (19 off 18 balls) in the 14th over of the run chase, bowled by Jessica Simmons, triggered a collapse as the Hinds were bundled out for 118, with a ball to spare. As a result, falling 18 runs short of the target. Flora Devonshire (34 off 28 balls) top-scored with the bat for Central Hinds. Skipper Hannah Rowe (15 off 19 balls), Rosemary Mair (12 off 6 balls) and Claudia Green (17 off 16 balls) played their part with the bat for their side.
Skipper Amelia Kerr (4-0-22-2) and Jessica Simmons (2-0-15-2) picked up a couple of wickets each. Maitlan Brown (4-0-18-1) and Jess Kerr (4-0-21-1) were impressive in their respective spells with the ball for the Wellington Blaze. Every Wellington bowler on the day was amongst the wickets.
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