The Wellington Firebirds and Blaze will be out to secure an unprecedented Dream11 Super Smash double double when they face the Canterbury Kings and Magicians in the Grand Final double-header at the Basin Reserve tomorrow.

The Blaze secured their spot in the Grand Final alongside the Firebirds with a 35-run win over the Auckland Hearts in the elimination final yesterday, setting up an opportunity for both sides to go back-to-back after their famous double win at the Basin Reserve last season.

For the Blaze, tomorrow’s final is also an opportunity to secure a fourth women’s domestic T20 title in a row, a feat never before achieved in the New Zealand women’s domestic T20 game.

Despite the accolades up for grabs, Blaze head coach Ivan Tissera said the side were firmly focused on the task at hand.

“It’s going to be a pretty incredible occasion at the Basin Reserve tomorrow,” he said.

“There is a huge amount on the line and we are well aware of the opportunity we have to leave a real legacy in the women’s game with a win tomorrow.

“But our focus is on our performance tomorrow, we have a very quick turnaround after the elimination final, as well as the travel back to Wellington, so were focused on preparing well and ensuring we are in the best shape to put on a strong performance that our home Wellington fans deserve!”

The Blaze are full strength heading into the final after Leigh Kasperek passed a late fitness test on an issue that kept her out of the elimination final yesterday.

The Firebirds will be out to be the first men’s team to claim back-to-back Super Smash titles since the Auckland Aces in 2010/11 and 2011/12 when they take-on the Canterbury Kings tomorrow.

Wellington have been the form side of the competition winning nine out of their ten round-robin matches, that solitary loss coming to tomorrow’s opposition at Hagley Oval in January.

Firebirds head coach Glenn Pocknall said the experience of winning last year’s final would bode well for his side heading in to tomorrow’s match.

“We’re really excited to have the opportunity to put on a real show for our Wellington fans again tomorrow,” he said.

“Last year’s final was an amazing occasion and going through that experience as a side and winning the competition will be a good experience to draw upon in those pressure moments tomorrow.

“We’ve prepared really well this week and we’re looking forward to what should be an awesome day at the Basin tomorrow.”

The Firebirds make one change to the squad that beat Auckland at Eden Park Outer Oval last weekend – young speedster Ben Sears returns to the squad in place of Nick Greenwood.

Super Smash Grand Finals day gets underway at the Basin Reserve from 12.10pm between the Magicians and Blaze, before the Firebirds and Kings at 4.00pm.

Wellington Blaze squad | Dream11 Super Smash Grand Final | v Canterbury Magicians
Maddy Green (c)
Rebecca Burns
Sophie Devine
Xara Jetly
Leigh Kasperek
Amelia Kerr
Jess Kerr
Caitlin King
Jess McFadyen
Beth Molony
Thamsyn Newton
Georgia Plimmer
Maneka Singh

Wellington Firebirds squad | Dream11 Super Smash Grand Final | v Canterbury Kings
Michael Bracewell (c)
Finn Allen
Hamish Bennett
Tom Blundell
Fraser Colson
Devon Conway
Jamie Gibson
Troy Johnson
Iain McPeake
Jimmy Neesham
Ben Sears
Logan van Beek
Peter Younghusband

Dream11 Super Smash presented by KFC
Grand Final
Saturday 13 February 2021

Canterbury Magicians v Wellington Blaze | 12:10pm

Wellington Firebirds v Canterbury Kings | 4:00pm
Basin Reserve, Wellington

Article added: Friday 12 February 2021