Hinds swept aside by Blaze
It’s early days but the Wellington Blaze’s grip on the Super Smash trophy appears as firm as ever after going two from two in the opening week of the new campaign.
Three days after beating Auckland by nine wickets in a rematch of last summer’s final, the threetime defending champions overpowered Central Hinds by the same margin in Napier.
A commanding display with the ball restricted Central to 88-9 before Wellington openers Rebecca Burns and skipper Maddy Green all but sealed the result with a 62-run stand.
Burns smashed 42 at a runa-ball while Green (22no off 25) steered the team home alongside Amelia Kerr (20no off 12) with almost seven overs to spare.
Green and Kerr were also a key part of a collective bowling effort, claiming two wickets apiece as Thamsyn Newton led the way with 3-23.
After being sent in by Wellington, the Central openers almost survived the first five overs before Kerr removed Jess Watkin for 12.
The Blaze attack then turned the screws on their opponents, taking wickets at regular intervals with Natalie Dodd the only other batter to reach double figures, top-scoring with 20.
‘‘We’re setting the standard high for ourselves and we want to keep chasing that, pushing it up as much as we can,’’ Newton told Spark Sport.
‘‘In T20 cricket, if you’ve got a fantastic fielding side you can cut off 20 to 30 runs which is critical when it comes time to chase. So we spend a lot of time on that and we expect a lot from the girls in that area.’’
The Hinds have a few days to group before they host Auckland at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth on New Year’s Eve, while Wellington will attempt to continue their hot start the following day against Northern Districts at Mt Maunganui.