The unbeaten Wellington Blaze again showcased their all-round class with a 49-run win over the Central Hinds at Pukekura Park.

Scorecard

Sophie Devine won the toss for the Blaze and opted to bat first under blue skies in New Plymouth.

The Hinds started well with the ball, keeping the run-rate in check and having the Blaze 28-1 after five overs.

The powerful Blaze batting lineup then began building momentum, with all the batters making handy contributions at a good clip. Rachel Priest (38 off 24) and Melie Kerr (38 off 25) were the joint top scorers, while Maddy Green (31), Sophie Devine (29) and Rebecca Burns (17) all chipped in.

A fast finish produced 57 runs off the final five overs to lift the total up to 170-5.

The Hinds started well in pursuit, moving to 17 without loss after two overs. However, the tournament’s top wicket-taker, Jess Kerr, wasted no time making an impact when she dismissed Emily Cunningham in the next over.

Wickets fell at regular intervals from there on and all six bowlers used took a wicket. The pick once again was Jess Kerr, who finished her impressive spell with 4-13.

The Hinds were bowled out for 121 in the 20th over to be well off the pace on the day.

Unbeaten after five matches, the defended champion Blaze sit atop the competition standings while the Hinds are in fourth place with two wins from six matches.

In the day's second match, a rapid half-century to Devon Conway and a five-wicket bag to Ollie Newton powered the Wellington Firebirds to a 42-run win over the Central Stags.

Scorecard

Batting first, last season’s leading run-scorer Devon Conway peppered the boundary on his way to 89 from just 50 deliveries. His knock included 11 fours and four sixes with the cut shot and cover drive proving particularly effective.

When Conway departed, the score was at 127-3 in the 14th over and a score of 200-plus looked on the cards.

The Stags fought back with a couple more wickets in quick succession but Jimmy Neesham kept the momentum going for the visitors. His 38 off 25 helped the Firebirds to 196-8 at the break.

With a powerful batting lineup and small boundaries at Pukekura Park, the Stags would have considered themselves in the hunt on a good track.

By the end of the batting powerplay, however, the Stags had lost three wickets. Ollie Newton had his first two dismissals of the evening and Logan van Beek snared George Worker (31 off 18) who was in fine touch.

Rachin Ravindra chipped in with the wicket of captain Tom Bruce and the Stags were struggling at 59-4 in the 9th over, already needing almost 12 an over.

The in-form Kieran Noema-Barnett (58 off 38), with support from Josh Clarkson (22), got the Stags back into the chase, but when both fell in quick succession, the result was beyond doubt.

It didn’t take long for the Firebirds to wrap it up, with the final six wickets falling in the space of just 14 balls. Ollie Newton finished his spell with 5-45, the first five-fa by a Firebird in a Twenty20.

The result saw the Firebirds move to the top of the table while the Stags have dropped back to third.

Next up for the Firebirds are the Auckland ACES at Eden Park Outer Oval on Monday. The Stags are back in action tomorrow at Pukekura Park, also against the ACES.

Article added: Saturday 28 December 2019