Wellington 'blaze' their way past Otago Sparks

Three wickets each by Sophie Devine, Jess Kerr and Amelia Kerr and an unbeaten half century by Rachel Priest saw Wellington Blaze defeat Otago Sparks by nine wickets in their Super Smash clash at Basin Reserve on Saturday (December 21).

Batting first, Sparks got off to a poor start, losing Suzie Bates (8) and Millie Cowan (7) inside four overs. Only two of their batters got into double figures – Katey Martin, the captain, scored 32, hitting four fours in the process while Bella Jones scored 21 off 27 balls.

The Sparks’ batting was strangled by three-wicket hauls by Jess and Amelia Kerr and Devine.

Wellington, in reply, blazed away to the target, courtesy an unconquered 46-ball 50 by Priest at the top. She added 66 with Rebecca Burns at the top, before being joined by Maddy Green (18 not out).

Despite the low target, Hannah Darlington finished with one for 19 for the Sparks with the ball.

Brief Scores: Otago Sparks 96 all out in 19.5 overs (Katey Martin 32, Bella James 21; Jess Kerr 3/16, Sophie Devine 3/16, Amelia Kerr 3/18) lost to Wellington Blaze 100/1 in 14.4 overs (Rachel Priest 50*, Rebecca Burns 27; Hannah Darlington 1/19) by nine wickets.