Power hitting gets Spirit home
Super Smash is the name and Katie Gurrey and Eimear Richardson made it the game for the Northern Spirit.
A powerful display of boundary hitting from the pair helped their side to a thrilling last-over, five-wicket win over the Canterbury Magicians in the women’s T20 Super Smash yesterday.
The loss left the third-placed Magicians needing other results to go their way to make the final on January 20. Top-of-the-table Wellington Blaze are now assured of one berth, and Auckland Hearts can join them if they beat Otago on Sunday.
Northern Spirit, in pursuit of 166 for victory, needed just three runs from the final over and Felicity Leydon-davies made short work of it with a four from the opening ball.
Northern won the toss and inserted Canterbury on a flat deck at Hagley Oval in Christchurch and not even an unbeaten 129-run partnership from the Magicians’ Kate Ebrahim and Frankie Mackay was enough for the home side.
Canterbury’s total of 165-2 looked competitive until Spirit opener Gurrey got going early.
She gave her side a rapid start to the run chase as she brought up her 50 in just 32 balls, but two balls later she was caught on the boundary by Gabby Sullivan from the bowling of Mackay for 55. Gurrey smashed the Canterbury bowlers all over Hagley Oval as she hit nine fours and a six.
Coming in at No 5, Richardson was equally as devastating with 43 from just 21 balls in an innings that included seven fours and one six.