Doolan, Kerr and Doughty star as Wellington Blaze defeat Northern Spirit

Following the first double-header of the New Zealand Super Smash, Player-of-the-Match Lucy Doolan, spoke to the media. She remained unbeaten on 70 off 62 deliveries, carrying her bat through. She then took two wickets as well, as her side Wellington Blaze registered a comfortable 26 run win over Northern Spirit.

Spirit won the toss and sent in Blaze to bat first. R. Burns opened the batting with Doolan and scored a quickfire 23-ball-28, before departing. Doolan was then joined by Amelia Kerr, and the two put on a 67 run stand before the latter was dismissed on 25. A useful cameo of 18* from E. Perry to go with Doolan's 70* helped Blaze reach 144-2 from their allotted overs.

C. Esterhuizen was the only bowler to claim a scalp for Spirit as Kerr was run out. She finished with figures of 1-30.

In the second innings, openers C. Gurrey and S. Curtis got their side off to a good start with their 25 run partnership. However, once Gurrey perished for a 13-ball-20, the run rate slowed significantly and wickets started to tumble. Curtis with her 35-ball-29 and F. Leydon-Davis with her 32-ball-29, were the top scorers for their side. No other batter reached double figures. This meant that at the end of their 20 overs, Spirit had scored 118-9 and lost by 26 runs.

After dominating with the bat, Blaze dominated with the ball too. D. Doughty led the wicket taking charts by claiming four scalps for 16 runs. Kerr finished with figures of 3-10 and Doolan took 2-27.

Following the conclusion of the match, Doolan spoke to New Zealand Cricket. About her performance, Doolan commented, "I think it's good to have a bat sometimes and batting through the innings doesn't often happen. But, good to anchor the innings and to get a score to put pressure on them at the end and grab the win."

"I'm not known for my hitting. I usually play the more classic shots and then Plan B is the little scoops and things," she continued. "Had to go to Plan B, but it was a good win. The girls coming out and obviously playing on a good pitch. It's great to go out there and to be part of the double-header is just great."

With this game being the first double-header of the season and with the matches also being televised, Doolan reflected, "Its a great opportunity for the girls. Playing in front of the cameras and things adds a little bit to the game. Yeah, excited and the girls are chuffed to be a part of it."

Apart from her batting brilliance, Doolan chipped in with two wickets to dismantle the opposing line-up. On her outing with the ball, Doolan said, "Couple of cheeky wickets. I was holding them up there, seeing if they could mishit one and the girls getting under them, which was great. I think it was pretty positive. For a wee bit, it could have gone either way so, glad it went our way."

Her teammate Amelia Kerr though, who was handy with the bat as well, took one more wicket than her. She finished with figures of 3-10 and was on a hattrick, which she missed out on. Doolan commented on the talented teenager, saying, "She's classy. With that wrong'un as well. Few of the girls have trouble picking that, she bowls them so well. Good to see that today."