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Wellington Blaze

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Wellington Blaze
Personnel
CaptainLeigh Kasperek (one-day)
Amelia Kerr (T20)
CoachLance Dry
Team information
ColoursKKR
FoundedFirst recorded match: 1934
Home groundBasin Reserve, Wellington
Secondary home ground(s)Karori Park, Wellington
Hutt Recreation Ground, Lower Hutt
History
First-class debutAuckland
in 1936
at Eden Park, Auckland
HBJS wins18 (including 1 shared)
SS wins8
Official websiteCricket Wellington

The Wellington Blaze is the women's representative cricket team for the New Zealand city of Wellington. They play their home games at Basin Reserve. They compete in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and the Women's Super Smash Twenty20 competition. They are the most successful side in the history of the Super Smash, with eight title wins.

History

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Wellington played in the first Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in 1935–36, in which they beat Auckland to claim the title.[1] They subsequently defended the title over the next two seasons, before losing it to Auckland in 1939–40.[2][3][4]

Wellington have gone on to win the Shield (under various names) 18 times. They had periods of dominance in the 1950s, where they won the title five times, and in the 1970s, where they won the title a further five times.[5][6] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Canterbury dominated the competition, winning the title 20 out of 21 times, but Wellington were the side to break their streak, topping the points table in 1989–90 with three wins from four matches.[6][7] They next won the one-day competition was in 2003–04, when they shared the trophy with Canterbury after the final was rained-off.[8] Between 2006–07 and 2021–22, they lost in the final seven times, including three times in a row between 2008–09 and 2010–11, before again winning the competition in 2022–23, beating Canterbury in the final.[9]

Wellington have also played in the Super Smash since its inaugural season in 2008–09, and are the most successful side in the history of the competition, with six title wins. They won the title in 2008–09, 2012–13, 2014–15 and three times in a row in 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20.[10] In 2020–21, they lost in the final to Canterbury by 4 wickets, despite a hat-trick from Wellington bowler Amelia Kerr, and Wellington batter Sophie Devine ending the season as the tournament's leading run-scorer.[11][12] They regained their title in 2021–22, however, going unbeaten in the group stage before beating Otago Sparks in the final by 75 runs.[13][14]

Grounds

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Wellington's primary home ground from their first match in 1937 until the 1950s was Basin Reserve, and they began using the ground consistently again from 2014. In between these periods, Wellington used grounds such as Kilbirnie Park in Wellington, Te Whiti Park in Lower Hutt and Petone Recreation Ground, also in Lower Hutt.[5][9][10]

From the 2000s, Wellington began using Karori Park, Wellington, as well as Trentham Memorial Park, Upper Hutt. In 2021–22, they played most of their matches at Basin Reserve, as well as two at Karori Park. In 2022–23, they played most of their matches at Basin Reserve, as well as two at Hutt Recreation Ground.[9][10]

Players

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Current squad

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Based on squad for the 2023–24 season. Players in bold have international caps.[15]

No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
18 Georgia Plimmer  New Zealand (2004-02-08) 8 February 2004 (age 20) Right-handed Right-arm medium
28 Caitlin King  New Zealand (1996-09-05) 5 September 1996 (age 28) Right-handed Right arm medium
30 Rebecca Burns  New Zealand (1994-09-30) 30 September 1994 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm off break
All-rounders
48 Amelia Kerr  New Zealand (2000-10-13) 13 October 2000 (age 24) Right-handed Right-arm leg break T20 Captain
62 Leigh Kasperek  New Zealand (1992-02-15) 15 February 1992 (age 32) Right-handed Right-arm off break One-Day Captain
77 Sophie Devine  New Zealand (1989-09-01) 1 September 1989 (age 35) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
1 Gemma Sims  New Zealand (2001-07-27) 27 July 2001 (age 23) Right-handed –
5 Jess McFadyen  New Zealand (1991-10-05) 5 October 1991 (age 33) Right-handed —
15 Antonia Hamilton  New Zealand (2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 (age 20) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Bowlers
3 Natasha Codyre  New Zealand (2003-10-29) 29 October 2003 (age 21) Right-handed Right-arm medium
12 Xara Jetly  New Zealand (2001-08-29) 29 August 2001 (age 23) Right-handed Right-arm off break
14 Nicole Baird  New Zealand (1993-08-06) 6 August 1993 (age 31) Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
19 Kate Chandler  New Zealand (2006-11-02) 2 November 2006 (age 18) Right-handed Right-arm leg break
23 Phoenix Williams  New Zealand (1998-12-20) 20 December 1998 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm medium
24 Jess Kerr  New Zealand (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 26) Right-handed Right arm medium
55 Hannah Francis  New Zealand (2006-02-04) 4 February 2006 (age 18) Right-handed Right-arm medium
58 Monique Rees  New Zealand (2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 (age 24) Right-handed Right-arm medium

Notable players

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Players who have played for Wellington and played internationally are listed below, in order of first international appearance (given in brackets):[16]

Coaching staff

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Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1935–36". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1937–38". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1938–39". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1939–40". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Women's First-Class Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b Watkin, Evan (October 2015). "The History of Women's Domestic Cricket in New Zealand" (PDF). Cricket Wellington. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Hansells Cup 1989–90 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Canterbury Women v Wellington Women, 31 January, 1 February 2004". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Women's List A Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Women's Twenty20 Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Wellington Women v Canterbury Women, February 12 2021". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Records/New Zealand Cricket Women's Twenty20, 2020/21/Most Runs". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ^ "New Zealand Cricket Women's Twenty20 2021/22/Table". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Final, Hamilton, Jan 29 2022, Women's Super Smash: Wellington Women v Otago Women". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Rees and Sims Complete Wellington Transfers, Hannah Francis and Phoenix Williams Awarded Contracts; 2023-24 Blaze Contracts Unveiled". Wellington Cricket. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Wellington Women Players". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Former Black Cap Luke Woodcock, Lance Dry to team up as Wellington Blaze coaches". Stuff. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
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