Wellington Blaze

Last updated

Wellington Blaze
Wellington Blaze logo.jpeg
Personnel
Captain Leigh Kasperek (one-day)
Amelia Kerr (T20)
Coach Lance Dry
Team information
Colours Wellington Firebirds colours.svg
FoundedFirst recorded match: 1934
Home ground Basin Reserve, Wellington
Secondary home ground(s) Karori Park, Wellington
Hutt Recreation Ground, Lower Hutt
History
First-class debut Auckland
in 1936
at  Eden Park, Auckland
HBJS  wins18 (including 1 shared)
SS  wins8
Official website Cricket 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.

Contents

History

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

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

Current squad

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

No.NameNationalityBirth dateBatting styleBowling styleNotes
Batters
18 Georgia Plimmer Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 8 February 2004 (age 20)Right-handedRight-arm medium
28Caitlin KingFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 5 September 1996 (age 27)Right-handedRight arm medium
30 Rebecca Burns Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 30 September 1994 (age 29)Right-handedRight-arm off break
All-rounders
48 Amelia Kerr Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 13 October 2000 (age 23)Right-handedRight-arm leg break T20 Captain
62 Leigh Kasperek Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 15 February 1992 (age 32)Right-handedRight-arm off break One-Day Captain
77 Sophie Devine Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 1 September 1989 (age 34)Right-handedRight-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
1Gemma SimsFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 27 July 2001 (age 22)Right-handed–
5 Jess McFadyen Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 5 October 1991 (age 32)Right-handed—
15Antonia HamiltonFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 15 April 2004 (age 19)Right-handedRight-arm medium
Bowlers
3Natasha CodyreFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 29 October 2003 (age 20)Right-handedRight-arm medium
12Xara JetlyFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 29 August 2001 (age 22)Right-handedRight-arm off break
14Nicole BairdFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 6 August 1993 (age 30)Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
19Kate ChandlerFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2 November 2006 (age 17)Right-handedRight-arm leg break
23Phoenix WilliamsFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 20 December 1998 (age 25)Right-handedRight-arm medium
24 Jess Kerr Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 18 January 1998 (age 26)Right-handedRight arm medium
55Hannah FrancisFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 4 February 2006 (age 18)Right-handedRight-arm medium
58Monique ReesFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 29 September 2000 (age 23)Right-handedRight-arm medium

Notable players

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

Coaching staff

Honours

See also

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References

  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. 1 2 "Women's First-Class Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 "Women's List A Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "Former Black Cap Luke Woodcock, Lance Dry to team up as Wellington Blaze coaches". Stuff. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
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