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A last-ball limit of Meddy Hyde’s match secured the Northern Spirit a dramatic victory over the Wellington Blaze in the Super Smash game at Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui on Friday.
Hyde and diminutive hitter Nensi Patel, who hit 25 major runs on 18 balls before running out of 3 remaining balls, helped guide Spirit to an upset victory to end the defending champions’ undefeated streak in the T20 competition.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Northern Spirit’s Kate Anderson helped her side to a dramatic victory over Wellington Blaze. FILE PHOTO
All the pressure was on new hitter Hyde when he faced Jess Kerr, but he didn’t break down as he calmly stroked the ball over the rope to ensure Spirit won by 5 wickets.
Previously, a good 50-run hit in 46 deliveries from leading hitter Kate Anderson provided some excitement during the Spirit chase, but when she was knocked down by Jess Kerr in the 15th, it seemed the rate of runs fired would be too difficult to beat negotiate.
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Instead, with wickets in hand and a desperate chase in the last overs, the Spirit prevailed.
In the early innings, you could almost hear the alarm bells going off as Amelia Kerr began swinging the willow for the Blaze while stroking 60 runs of 42 balls.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Amelia Kerr from Wellington was in great shape at Mt Mauganui. FILE PHOTO
Blaze’s captain Maddy Green, chasing her third victory of the T20 competition, won the toss and chose to hit first; That came as no surprise to the Spirit, who expected their opponents to have the first hit on a feather throw.
The Spirit may have suspected that Kerr would be a dangerous operator, and if they did, they would not be disappointed.
Kerr’s excellent timing allowed him to set 7 limits, even though the pitch offered little help; She relied on her hand-eye coordination and footwork to keep hitting the ball into empty territory as the defending champions went 139-7 in their 20 overs.
It took a superb pitch from Spirit’s Alisha Rout to end Kerr’s fun after a coverage campaign, with Brooke Halliday breaking through the wickets to execute the Blaze’s leading scorer.
Leigh Kasperek, fresh out of her quarantine and needing to apply sunscreen after being trapped in Scotland while visiting her homeland, and starter Rebecca Burns each contributed 17 runs to contribute to Blaze’s total.
The decision to ask Patel to open the Spirit’s attack with his mid-pace deliveries on the slow field was the right decision, as he only conceded 17 runs in 4 overs.
But it was in death that he made his most important and critical contribution to the Spirit.
Spirit of the North 140-5 (Kate Anderson 50, Nensi Patel 25) beat the Wellington Blaze 139-7 (Amelia Kerr 60, Rebecca Burns 17, Leigh Kasperek 17; Felicity Leydon-Davis 2-23) for 5 wickets.
MVP points stuff: Meddy Hyde 3, Nensi Patel 2, Amelia Kerr 1.
