2023/24 HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
Round 9
Saturday 17 February 2024
Cello Basin Reserve, Wellington
WELLINGTON BLAZE beat CANTERBURY MAGICIANS by 19 runs
Canterbury Magicians : 0 points
Wellington Blaze : 4 points
Selected milestones
Jess Simmons : List A career best bowling and 50 List A wickets
Xara Jetly : 50 List A wickets
Tash Codyre : Career best batting
A weekend wake-up call for HBJ leaders Wellington Blaze started with a remarkable, tight, get-out-of-jail victory against the Canterbury Magicians, all thanks to their most experienced spinner.
The out of contention, bottom of the table Magicians had nothing to lose, in a sober rematch of last year's Grand Final.
Blaze was without stars Melie Kerr and Sophie Devine (away at the women's IPL), but that hardly excused being rolled for just 105 in a 48-over match delayed and reduced by early showers.
Blaze had elected to bat first, but simply never recovered after Gabby Sullivan (3/38) and Jess Simmons (4/31) took four wickets between them at the top in their opening spells.
Blaze's top scorer was their number 10 youngster, Tash Codyre, who reached 24 before Frankie Mackay ended the innings in just 28.1 overs.
Another youngster, Kate Chandler (20) was the only other batter to reach double figures.
So the Magicians, coming off a battling summer, surely had a chance this time.
But guess what? Cricket is never as easy as it sounds.
Blaze's spinners went to work, and quickly had big wickets.
Xara Jetly opened in tandem with pace ace Jess Kerr, and had two before Kasperek came on in the ninth over.
The 11th over saw Kasperek bowl a double wicket maiden, and the Mags were all of a sudden 25/4 in the low chase.
Mackay and Nat Cox had to stave off Jetly, Kerr and Kasperek as they kept on dotting down, building pressure.
Then in the 17th, Kasperek got the big wicket of Mackay: a wicket maiden, again.
Cox followed a couple of overs later, Kasperek's fourth.
The miracle worker was at it again. She was made to wait a while for her bag, but in the 33rd over Missy Banks was caught for the Magicians' top score of 24 and "Kasper" finished with a rmatch-winning effort of 5/22 off her 10 overs, including three maidens.
Kerr and Codyre mopped up the tail, the Magicians bowled out for 86 in 36.5 overs, left wondering just what they had to do this summer to get ther mojo back.
