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Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek help Wellington Blaze humble Central Hinds

Women's CricZone Staff

05 Dec 2021 00:00 IST

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Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek help Wellington Blaze humble Central Hinds — Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek © Getty Images

All-round performances from Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek helped Wellington Blaze roll over Central Hinds by 65 runs and register their second win in the Super Smash 2021-22. Chasing a target slightly above par, Hinds folded for just 79 runs at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sunday (December 5).

Earlier in the day, Blaze skipper Maddy Green won the toss and elected to bat. Rosemary Mair dismissed Georgia Plimmer in the second over for a duck to give an early breakthrough. Rebacca Burns lost her wicket for 14 while Maddy was also dismissed for a duck. This put Blaze under some pressure as they found themselves at 24 for three when the power play ended.

But Kerr and Kasperek restored the innings chipping in with a good partnership. The pair took some time early on as their side were 40 for three at the halfway stage. However, in the second half of their innings, they accelerated the scoring, putting the pressure back on Hinds. Kerr was the initial aggressor reaching her second successive fifty in the tournament from just 40 balls. She was eventually dismissed for 62 runs from 49 balls.

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By the time Kerr was dismissed, she had put on a 99-run partnership with Kasperek. She then added 23 runs from the remaining nine deliveries, which took their side’s total to 144 for four in their 20 overs. Kasperek remained unbeaten on 60 runs from 43 balls.

In reply to the total, Hinds were never in control of the run chase. Maneka Singh’s double strikes of skipper Jess Watkin and Emily Cunningham in the third over put Hinds on the backfoot and they never really recovered from there.

Kasperek struck Hannah Rowe in the last over of the power play before Singh came back to take the scalp of Mikaela Greig in the very next over. At 17 for four, Hinds needed some resurrection like Blaze had through the stand between Kasperek and Kerr, but instead they kept losing wickets. It soon became 31 for five, then 36 for six, then 43 for seven and were eventually bowled out for 79. Opener Natalie Dodd was the highest scorer with 24, while Mair got 16 runs. No one else managed to get into double figures.

Apart from Singh, Caitlin King also picked up three scalps. Kasperek picked up two wickets as well while Kerr and Xara Jetly also got one each. As a result of this win, Blaze are now placed right at the top with two wins and a far superior net run rate than Otago Sparks. Hinds will look to open their account when they play Canterbury Magicians on December 10.

Brief scores:

Wellington Blaze 144/4 in 20 overs (Amelia Kerr 62, Leigh Kasperek 60*, Rosemary Mair 1/19) beat Central Hinds 79/10 in 18 overs (Natalie Dodd 24, Maneka Singh 3/13, Caitlin King 3/18) by 65 runs.

New Zealand Super Smash Amelia Kerr Leigh Kasperek Super Smash 2021-22