Wellington Blaze Playing For Finals Spots This Weekend Against Central Hinds

The Wellington Blaze squad to meet the Central Hinds at Kelburn Park and the Allied Nationwide Finance Basin Reserve in the last round of the 2009/10 domestic Women’s One-Day and Twenty20 competitions on 22, 23 and 24 January is:

Megan Wakefield - Captain
Lucy Doolan - Vice Captain
Sarah Bradbury
Kerry Anne Tomlinson
Amanda Cooper
Sophie Devine
Mindy Hodgson
Liz Perry
Sian Ruck
Andrea Stockwell
Allex Evans
Michelle Bunkall

This round of domestic Women’s One-Day and Twenty20 matches are both top of the table fixtures, with the Blaze playing for finals berths in both competitions.

The domestic women’s points tables heading into the last round are:

Women’s One-Day: Wellington Blaze 24, Central Hinds 22, Auckland Hearts 16, Northern Spirit 15, Otago Sparks 14, Canterbury Magicians 12

Women’s Twenty20:

Central Hinds 16, Wellington Blaze 12, Auckland Hearts 12, Northern Spirit 4, Canterbury Magicians 4, Otago Sparks 0

Wellington Blaze coach Mark Borthwick says the Central Hinds will be tough to beat this weekend. “The Hinds boast a very strong playing eleven, including a number of prominent New Zealand White Ferns all of whom we highly respect and we will have to play very well to defeat them,” he says.

“Three of our players, Sophie Devine, Lucy Doolan and Sian Ruck, have all recently been named in the White Ferns as well and are all eager to help lift us into the finals for the second consecutive year.

“All this suggests a very good series of one-day games up at Kelburn Park on Friday and Saturday, followed by the all important Twenty20 game on Sunday at the Basin Reserve.”

Sunday’s Twenty20 match at the Basin Reserve is the curtain raiser to the Wellington Firebirds versus Northern Districts HRV Cup Twenty20 match, which Borthwick says the Blaze are especially excited about.

“The girls are jumping at the opportunity to be playing this curtain raiser fixture at Wellington’s spiritual home of cricket and on the same ground that they won last year’s domestic Twenty20 final against Canterbury.

“The prospect of a good crowd and a noisy Basin atmosphere will hopefully propel the Blaze towards victory and a place in next week’s final.”

The domestic women’s One-Day final is on Saturday 30 January and the Twenty20 final is on Sunday 31 January.

Wellington Blaze v Central Hinds – match information Where: Kelburn Park and the Allied Nationwide Finance Basin Reserve, Wellington When: This Friday, Saturday and Sunday – One-Day 50-over matches on Friday and Saturday at Kelburn Park from 10.30am; Twenty20 on Sunday from 10.00am at the Basin Reserve.

ENDS

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