Devine show powers Blaze to victory over Spirit

Wellington Blaze kept their unbeaten record intact in the ongoing Super Smash by thumping Northern Spirit by 57 runs at Basin Reserve on Friday (January 3).

It was yet another allround show from Sophie Devine that enabled Blaze to a comfortable victory. First, with the bat she anchored the innings well to remain unbeaten on 87. Then with the ball, she took three wickets to put the brakes on Spirit's run-chase.

Electing to bat first, Blaze got off to a good start courtesy a solid 45-run stand for the opening wicket between Rachel Priest and Rebecca Burns within the power play. Spirit finally broke the partnership when they dismissed Burns for 18. From then on it was all the Devine show.

First, she stitched a crucial partnership with Priest that was worth 53 runs and later she simply teed off by hitting seven maximums and two fours to take Blaze to 187. She was well supported by Priest who scored 49 runs.

For Spirit, Eimear Richardson and Carolyn Esterhuizen picked up a couple of wickets each, though the latter was expensive, giving away runs at 11 per over.

Chasing a daunting target of 188, Spirit needed a good start and they got one. Their openers put on 41 runs but after the fall of Bernadine Bezuidenhout for 13, Blaze bowlers put pressure on Spirit batters with regular wickets.

Spirit's middle and lower order batters cut a sorry figure. All were dismissed for a single-digit score. Only Katie Gurrey waged a lone battle with a fighting score of 63. Devine was well supported in the bowling department by Leigh Kasperek and Amelia Kerr who picked up two wickets each. Their efforts meant that Spirit were restricted to 126 for seven, falling short by 57 runs.

Brief Scores:

Wellington Blaze 187/4 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 87*, Rachel Priest 49; EAJ Richardson 2-20) beat Northern Spirit 126/7 in 20 overs (CA Gurrey 63; Sophie Devine 3-15, Amelia Kerr 2-20) by 57 runs.