Defending champions Wellington Blaze secured their spot in the Women’s Super Smash Final for an 8th consecutive season with a clinical performance in the Eliminator against Northern Brave.
Put into bat first, Blaze openers Melie Kerr and Rebecca Burns got the team off to a bright start, but it wasn’t long before Brave struck, removing Burns for 21 (10). Another wicket fell soon after, with Hannah Darlington dismissed cheaply for 5, leaving Blaze at 30 for 2 inside the powerplay. Jess Kerr joined Melie, and the Kerr sisters stitched a valuable 33-run partnership to steady the innings.
The Blaze found themselves in trouble at 88/5 after 14.4 overs, with Melie Kerr dismissed for 24, and shortly after, Maitlan Brown (5) and Jess Kerr (29) fell in quick succession. New batters Jessica McFadyen and Caitlin King cautiously guided the Blaze to a competitive total, sharing an important 41-run partnership. While McFadyen was dismissed for 17 (25), King (19* off 15), along with Sam Mackinder (4*), remained unbeaten as Blaze finished with 133 on the board.
Kayley Knight, with impressive figures of 2/16 (3), led Brave’s bowling attack and was well supported by Sarah Glenn (1/24), Marama Downes (1/26), Jess Watkin (1/27), and Nensi Patel (1/27) in restricting Blaze to a chaseable total.
In reply, while Jess Watkin got off to an aggressive start, she didn’t find much support from the other end as Holly Topp (5) and Sarah Glenn (0) fell in quick succession. Watkin was then run out for 26 (13), leaving Brave in trouble at 3/33 after 4 overs. Sam Curtis and Caitlin Gurrey stepped up with valuable contributions, keeping Brave in the hunt.
Gurrey’s impactful stay (19 off 16) came to an end in the 8th over and Curtis (9) departed in the same over, crumbling to 5/61. Nensi Patel (23 off 28) and Marina Lamplough (16 off 17) led some sort of recovery, but failed to accelerate, and as the Brave again lost wickets in quick intervals, they were reduced to 7/100 after 15.2 overs. The tailenders added 10 runs before the Brave were bundled out for 110 in 18.4 overs.
A complete bowling effort by the Blaze was led by skipper Melie Kerr, who returned figures of 4/19 (4), dismissing the set middle-order batters. Hannah Darlington (2/19) and Maitlan Brown (2/25) were equally impressive. Although wicketless, Jess Kerr (0/26) and Nicole Baird (0/20) were economical, keeping a tight check on Brave’s scoring rate.
Confirming their 8th straight Final appearance, the Blaze denied Brave their maiden Final and will face the table-toppers, Otago Sparks, in the 2024-25 Women’s Super Smash Final tomorrow, February 2, at 5:10 AM IST.
Loves all things female cricket
