The Auckland Hearts bowlers gave the Blaze a scare, but in the end, Melie Kerr showed her class to guide her side to a six-wicket victory.

Batting first, Anna Peterson took three boundaries from the opening two overs. The skipper got the Hearts started with a push wide of mid-on. An aggressive flick to the mid-wicket boundary was back up with a cut through point as the Hearts took 15 from the first two overs.

Sophie Devine hit back when Peterson failed to clear Maddy Green in the covers before spin Blaze spinners Leigh Kasperek and Melie Kerr settled into early spells. The pair picked up the next three wickets, including the big wicket of Katie Perkins (25), as the Hearts slipped to 68/4 at the start of the 12th over.

Holly Huddleston (21) hit the first six of the match but was trapped in front when Jess Kerr returned to the attack. Leg-spinner Deanna Doughty kept the brakes on as the Hearts eyed a big finish.

Though Armstrong clipped her first ball to the fine-leg boundary, the Blaze spinners continued to dominate proceedings. Regina Lilii marshalled the tail past 100, while Izzy Gaze impressed during her brief unbeaten knock as the Hearts posted 111/9.

It didn’t take long for the Hearts to hit back. Rachel Priest chopped Huddleston’s first delivery back onto the stumps. Arlene Kelly followed suit for the Hearts, when her inswinging yorker was too good for Blaze opener Devine.

Though Rebecca Burns and Maddy Green led a Blaze fightback through the powerplay, the Hearts kept the pressure on. Having displayed her leg-side power on several occasions, Burns was wonderfully caught by a sliding Lilii coming off the mid-wicket boundary.

The very next over, Amie Hucker claimed her first Super Smash wicket when Natasha van Tilburg clung on to an excellent one-handed catch to her right.

The Blaze still had experience to come and it was that duo again. Melie Kerr (47*) and Kasperek (26*) put on a show adding an unbeaten 75 runs for the fourth wicket. While the Hearts showed admirable fight with the ball, the Blaze eventually cruised to a six-wicket victory with 15 balls to spare.

The Blaze face the Northern Spirit next in a New Year's Day showdown at Bay Oval.

Article added: Monday 30 December 2019