2023/24 HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
Round 2
Sunday, 19 November 2023
Cello Basin Reserve
[Match reduced to 25 overs per side]
WELLINGTON BLAZE defeated OTAGO SPARKS by 22 runs
Points: Wellington Blaze 4, Otago Sparks 0
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Stung by a heavy first-up loss, defending Hallyburton Johnstone Shield champions Wellington Blaze hit back hard in round two against the Otago Sparks.
Despite having been sent in again by Felicty Robertson, this time the host's top order fired - and laid a foundation for the desired outcome.
The top three all got starts, Jess McFadyen going on to top-score with 68, at better than run-a-ball as she constructed the key, 87-run second-wicket stand with young WHITE FERN Georgia Plimmer (39).
But when the experienced opener departed in the 22nd over, the Blaze innings lost all its momentum.
After Emma Black had removed opener Rebecca Burns, and Chloe Deerness followed up with two good wickets, it was Eden Carson who stopped McFadyen in her tracks at 152/4.
From there, nobody got traction in the Blaze innings as the hosts plummeted to 168/9 in the space of just three and a half chaotic overs.
Even with the weather-delayed game having been reduced to 25 overs per side, it was a scrambling end to the innings, with two runouts in the mix after too much ambition.
Still, the Sparks would need to go hard in reply, with better than run-a-ball needed to win the game.
The Blaze made the better start, removing both openers at 37/2, before captain Robertson and Polly Inglis steadied the Otago ship with a 67-run stand for the third.
The pair kept the score ticking over until a disastrous 19th over when Xara Jetly (3/25) claimed her second and third wickets at the end of the over, including Robertson - gone for 38.
Inglis and Caitlin Blakely kept the Sparks' hopes alive with some late hitting, until Leigh Kasperek had Inglis caught in the penultimate over, at 136/5, with 33 needed off the last 10 balls.
Then Nicole Baird (2/35) came up with a killer last overs, taking two wickets and inducing a runout (Kasperek in the action again) as the Sparks' chances were snuffed out.
After one win apiece on the weekend, both teams landed mid-table after the first two rounds of the summer.
