Women’s Domestic Twenty20 Final: Otago Sparks v Wellington Blaze in Dunedin 11am Saturday 23 January, live on SKY Sport.
The Otago Sparks will begin as the favourites tomorrow in the final of the Women’s Domestic Twenty20 against the Wellington Blaze in Dunedin.
The Sparks finished the round robin phase top of the table and have earned the right to host the girls from the Capital at University Oval in between the two BLACKCAPS ANZ ODIs against Sri Lanka at the same venue.
In a boost for the match, and for women’s cricket, Sky Sport will cover the final live from 11am. It is the first time that a women’s domestic match will be covered live.
The Sparks have stuck with the squad who have played superbly in the regular season and they are looking for a big result at home.
Captain Suzie Bates, who has scored 203 so far this season and sit fourth on the run scorers behind Elizabeth Perry (213), Amy Satterthwaite (210) and Katey Martin (205), says her team is up for the occasion.
“We're fizzing about the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd at the University Oval in a final,” said the 27-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best players in the world.
“We have had been building towards this over the last couple of years by making some real improvements and growing the reputation of the Sparks. To play a part in such a big weekend of cricket for Otago with the BLACKCAPS playing either side and the Volts in their playoff game in Queenstown is such a great opportunity to showcase women's cricket and cricket in Otago.”
Otago won four from their five matches, losing only to Auckland Hearts on Duckworth Lewis in their opening round.
They claimed a super-over victory against Canterbury in the second round and went on to beat Central Hinds and Northern Spirit.
Last week, Otago played Wellington at University Oval in their last round match and held their nerve to beat the away side by 8 runs, thus securing not only their place in the final, but a home venue as well.
It is hard to overstate the importance of Bates to the Otago team. The captain will look to lead from the front when she opens the batting and her innings is often the spine of the Otago innings.
She also plays a key role with the ball in hand and her ability to bowl at the death of an innings is expected to be a feature of the match.
Bates, who has played 67 T20s for New Zealand, said there is nothing like playing for the home province for some silverware.
“We can't wait to play in front of friends and family and the Otago Cricket's supporters. There is a great atmosphere within the team and we know that if we stick to our plans and play to our ability on Saturday we will give ourselves every chance of securing a special result."
Meanwhile, Wellington will fancy their chances of delivering an upset in the Deep South.
Wellington’s Liz Perry has been their most consistent performer with the bat in this format and currently sits top of the batting table with 213 runs.
She will have support from Rachel Priest and Sophie Devine, who sit 8th and 10th but on their day both batters can play destructive match winning performances which in this format can be lethal.
Otago will begin the final as the favourites, but an exciting match to decide the T-20 champions is expected tomorrow in Dunedin.
Otago Sparks:
Suzie Bates (c), Vic Abbott, Caitlin Blakely, Emma Campbell, Georgia Clarke, Millie Cowan, Megan Gibbs, Polly Inglis, Isabella James, Leigh Kasperek, Katey Martin (wk), Morna Nielsen, Coach: Warren Lees
Wellington Blaze:
Sophie Devine (c), Erin Burns, Rebecca Burns, Whetu Charteris, Deanna Doughty, Allex Evans, Amelia Kerr, Gemma Krebs, Suzie McDonald, Liz Perry, Rachel Priest (wk), Eimear Richardson, Coaches: Mark Borthwick and Ivan Tissera
Suie Bates quotes courtesy www.otagocricket.co.nz
