The Wellington Blaze were worthy winners. Photo / Photosport
The Wellington Blaze were worthy winners. Photo / Photosport
A near-perfect performance from Sophie Devine has seen the Wellington Blaze complete a perfect season and take the Super Smash Twenty20 title.
The White Ferns skipper cracked 92 from 62 balls to help Wellington rack up 175-4 before taking 2-14 as the Otago Sparks were dismissed for 100 at Seddon Park today.
The success marked Devine's second domestic T20 title of the season, having earlier captained the Perth Scorchers to victory in Australia's Big Bash, while it was Wellington's fourth Super Smash triumph in the last five campaigns.
Despite going unbeaten in 10 games during the regular season, Wellington were forced to play the final in Hamilton as part of a double-header with the men's decider, but the Blaze never looked like letting that lack of home advantage hold them back.
Last season's beaten finalists opted to bat first once Maddy Green had won the toss and Devine quickly proved that decision correct, sending Hayley Jensen's first ball away to the boundary.
The opener proceeded to plunder 10 fours and five sixes as she batted through to the final over of Wellington's innings, being denied a century when Emma Black had her caught by Caitlin Blakely.
Devine was offered able assistance by Green, who compiled 55 runs from 35 balls as part of a 110-run partnership for the third wicket, and the New Zealand skipper was quick to pay tribute to her domestic leader.
"Maddy's got a good head on her shoulders – sometimes she reins me in and sometimes I rein her in," Devine told Spark Sport. "I think it's all about partnerships, it doesn't matter if it's with the bat or the ball.
"The way that she scored sort of took the pressure off me, because I couldn't find the middle of the bat today, which is a bit frustrating.
"We know that they've got threats with the ball all the way through, the Sparks, so we knew we had to get a good total on the board and we were able to do so."
Sophie Devine hit 10 fours and five sixes in her match-winning innings for Wellington. Photo / Photosport
The total went from challenging to near-impossible when Otago captain Suzie Bates was dismissed in the third over, the competition's leading scorer holing out for three from the parsimonious bowling of Jess Kerr.
That reduced the Sparks to 18-2, which was when Devine decided to further stamp her mark on the game.
She first struck in the sixth over, bowling out Kate Ebrahim, and doubled her tally in her next over by removing threatening veteran Katey Martin.
Otago continued to lose regular wickets throughout their chase and, fittingly, it was Devine who secured the result, running out Sophie Oldershaw in the 18th over to complete a 75-run triumph.
Off spinner Leigh Kasperek was the pick of the bowlers, snaring 3-23, while Amelia and Jess Kerr took a wicket each.
The victory eased some of the pain Wellington suffered in last year's competition, when they were stunned by Canterbury's late charge in their run chase, as Green acknowledged before she lifted the trophy.
"We put the ghosts of last year behind us," she said.
In the men's final, a career-best innings from Mitchell Santner inspired Northern Districts to a dominant victory over Canterbury.
Santner, whose best T20 innings coming into today was 59, blasted an unbeaten 92 off 40 balls batting at No 5, taking over the innings after it was superbly set up by opener Katene Clarke (71 off 34).
ND reached 217-5, and Canterbury never came close in response, with Santner claiming a wicket and Black Caps teammates Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee three apiece as Canterbury were bowled out for 161 with seven balls remaining.
