Devastating Devine leads Wellington Blaze to three-peat

Sophie Devine’s blistering half-century headlined Wellington Blaze’s 36-run win over Auckland Hearts in the final of the Super Smash tournament at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sunday (January 18). In a rain-affected game, the right-hander blasted 54 off just 23 balls, to headline her team’s total of 81 for 2 in their seven overs, before the bowlers combined to restrict the visitors to 45 for 5. The hosts thus continued their domination of the competition, remaining unbeaten through the season, and also sealing their third consecutive title.

With the rain having struck early, Hearts won the toss and elected to bowl in incredibly overcast conditions. On a rather sticky surface and with very heavy outfield, run-scoring should have been difficult, but none of that appeared to bother Devine. The Blaze skipper took all these factors out of the equation, consistently using her feet to get to the pitch of the ball and muscling it over the straight boundary.

At the top of the order, Rachel Priest and Devine combined for a quick-fire 25-run stand in 3 overs, before the pair of Devine and Green lifted the ante. The hosts’ second wicket pair shared a sensational 46-run stand in just 2.5 overs to take the game away from Hearts. Devine brought up her half-century off just 22 balls, smashing four fours and five sixes in her powerful knock. When she was dismissed in the penultimate over of the innings— the second of Bella Armstrong’s two wickets— Blaze were sitting pretty at 71 for 2 in 5.5 overs. Rebecca Burns and Green then scampered a few hurried runs in the final over, to take Blaze to a mammoth total of 81 for 2.

Hearts had to come out swinging in their chase, but the batters found the going tough. Blaze consistently took the pace off the ball, bowling it into the wicket, forcing the batters to create all the power. After several swings and misses from Lauren Down and Peterson, the wickets began to tumble. Leg-spinner Deanna Doughty removed Down first, before Peterson fell to Jess Kerr. The medium pacer thus finished at the top of the bowling charts with 20 wickets to her credit.

Despite the large total they had registered, Blaze remained energetic in the field, diving to cut off boundaries, sharp in the infield and taking all the chances that came their way. Although Armstrong tonked Doughty for a couple of boundaries in her second over, Hearts were never really in the competition after a quiet first couple of overs. Leigh Kasperek's double strike in the penultimate over of the innings was the final nail in the coffin, as Blaze sauntered to a comfortable win.

For Hearts, Armstrong’s eight-ball 13 was the only thing to cheer about.

Brief Scores: Wellington Blaze 81/2 in 7 overs (Sophie Devine 54; Bella Armstong 2-23) beat Auckland Hearts 45/5 in 7 overs (Leigh Kasperek 2-4). PoM: Sophie Devine.