In any final, fans hope to see a close fought encounter. They got just that in the women's Super Smash, with the Wellington Blaze needing every ball in their 20 overs to topple the Canterbury Magicians.
Canterbury would have liked their chances against the defending champions after opening the batting. The Southerners posted 130-3 from their allotted overs, led by an unbeaten 61 from Erin Bermingham and 38 from Kate Ebrahim.
Wellington's chase got off to a rough start when opener Lucy Doolan was out LBW to Bermingham for just one run in the second over. Rebecca Burns (41) and Sophie Devine (31) righted the ship before they were both run out inside the final 10 overs. Despite some wickets falling late in the piece, the Wellingtonians were able to close out the win on the final ball of the match.
Wellington captain Liz Perry admitted she thought the team had blown their opportunity. "I thought we had choked there a little bit ... Some sort of calm heads at the end got the job done for us today."
