A win against the Otago Sparks would set a New Zealand consecutive winning record of 17 games on the trot for the Blaze.
Sitting on 16 consecutive wins, the 2021-23 Blaze are tied with… the Blaze of 2018-20 for most wins in a row in New Zealand.
Adam Milne returns to the Firebirds squad from injury, who will provide extra venom to the pace attack alongside fellow returning allrounder, Nathan Smith.
The Spotlight Reporting Wellington Blaze have a potential debutant in Olivia Boivin, who comes into the side along with Rachel Bryant to give the Blaze a traveling party of 13.
The Firebirds and Blaze travel to Dunedin looking to stay atop the Dream11 Super Smash ladder in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Firebirds
The reinforcements begin to arrive for the Firebirds, adding Adam Milne and Nathan Smith to their squad, both of whom have been valuable contributors already in this Super Smash season.
Adam Milne was held back from going to Pakistan and India with the BLACKCAPS for preparation concerns, instead focusing on getting healthy and getting game reps in for the Firebirds. After huge contributions in the pivotal final overs of Rounds 1 and 2 of the competition, Milne’s addition to the squad is a welcome sight for the Firebirds.
Nathan Smith’s absence was short, coming back to join the side that he has contributed handily to with both bat and ball to this point in the campaign, having the fourth largest innings score of any Firebird this season.
Jakob Bhula is added to the squad and travels to Dunedin, the Firebirds are a traveling party of 13 amidst precautions around sickness due to the current COVID-19 wave.
The Firebirds look to stay in pole position with a win over the Volts this weekend, a clash that kicks off at 2:40pm on Sunday the 15th of January, streaming LIVE on Spark Sport.
BLAZE
The Spotlight Reporting Wellington Blaze look for a new national record of consecutive wins against a classic rival in the Otago Sparks.
Captain Amelia Kerr and her Blaze make one change and one addition to the squad, who also travel with 13 players for precautionary reasons.
Rachel Bryant and Olivia Boivin (uncapped) join the squad, bolstering the depth of an already deep Blaze team. Maneka Singh comes out of the squad, giving the Blaze an extra slot in the bowling attack for a new addition.
The winning record won’t come easy, Melie Kerr knows well that Suzie Bates and the Sparks aren’t a walk-over, though the Blaze have already bested them once this season at home on Christmas Eve. With WHITE FERNS captain Sophie Devine missing due to resting her foot as a precaution, the Blaze will have to elevate their game that much more to set their New Zealand record.
The Blaze go for the record in the first half of the double-header, kicking off at 11am on Sunday the 15th of January in Dunedin, streaming LIVE on Spark Sport.
Wellington Blaze squad | Dream11 Super Smash | v Otago Sparks
Amelia Kerr (Captain)
Leigh Kasperek (Vice Captain)
Nicole Baird
Rachel Bryant
Rebecca Burns
Dee Doughty
Maddy Green
Jess Kerr
Caitlin King
Jess McFadyen
Tamsyn Newton
Olivia Boivin
Xara Jetly
Wellington Firebirds squad | Dream11 Super Smash | v Otago Volts
Peter Younghusband (c)
Callum McLachlan (wk)
Devan Vishvaka
Adam Milne
Nick Kelly
Rachin Ravindra
Troy Johnson
Ollie Newton
Nathan Smith
Tim Robinson
Logan van Beek
Michael Snedden
Jakob Bhula
Article added: Saturday 14 January 2023
