At the Basin Reserve, all eyes were on a pivotal clash between Wellington Blaze and the Canterbury Magicians, the Blaze fighting to overtake the Central Hinds at the business end of the competition.
Blaze closed that former 10-point gap by four points today with a much needed five-wicket win.
The visitors got off to a shaky start after having been sent in, before WHITE FERN Kate Ebrahim's half century (52 off 79 balls) helped resuscitate the innings from 16/3. Batting at seven, young Ally Mace-Cochrane also reached a half century in the team's tally of 223 for nine, finishing unbeaten on 55* off 60 balls.
However, it wasn't enough to extinguish the Blaze who got off to a solid start in reply, powerful Rebecca Burns (above, PHOTOSPORT) booming a half century at the top (52 off 68 balls) and dominating a 51-run opening stand with Lucy Doolan. When Doolan was run out, WHITE FERN Amelia Kerr (40) combined with Burns for a further 7.4 overs before an unbeaten 47* from Thamsyn Newton helped bring home the win, and the points, with just seven balls to spare (below, PHOTOSPORT).
