Leigh Kasperek's Wellington Blaze has become the first team to book a spot in the 2023 Hallyburton Johnstone Shield national one-day final, following their twin wins against Northern Districts in Lower Hutt this weekend.
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The Blaze backed up yesterday's seventh-round victory with a 154-run bonus-point win today, taking them to 30 points on the table - a mark that only the Canterbury Magicians are capable of catching in next weekend's last two rounds of the regular season, en route to the 4 March Grand Final in Queenstown.
Despite a three-wicket loss to the Central Hinds today, the Magicians remain in control of their own destiny and will lock in the remaining spot in the Grand Final if they beat the Otago Sparks just once in either rounds nine or 10 next weekend.
The Hinds bounded up to the third rung of the ladder as they put a dampener on centurion Amy Satterthwaite's final match at her home ground in Christchurch today, while the Auckland Hearts rallied to take two wins off the Sparks in Dunedin.
The defending champion Sparks now find themselves at the wrong end of the table, with the most work to do to keep their dream alive.
No team is formally out of the running, but the destiny of the four lowest ranked team is squarely in the Canterbury Magicians' hands, and the new cellar dwellers Northern Districts and Otago Sparks will need to turbo-charge their net run rate as well.
The Magicians play their final two rounds against the Sparks in tinder-dry Queenstown next Saturday and Sunday, while the Hinds will host Wellington Blaze in Palmerston North, and the Auckland Hearts are at home to host Northern Districts.
The Blaze also qualified for this season's Dream11 Super Smash national final, in which they were defeated for the trophy by the Magicians.
