Wellington Blaze
The Wellington Blaze is the women's representative cricket team for the New Zealand city of Wellington. They play their home games at Basin Reserve. They compete in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and the Women's Super Smash Twenty20 competition. They are the most successful side in the history of the Super Smash, with seven title wins, as well as being the current holders. History. Wellington played in the first Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in 1935–36, in which they beat Auckland to claim the title. They subsequently defended the title over the next two seasons, before  losing it to Auckland in 1939–40. Wellington went on the win the Shield (under various names) 17 times. They had periods of dominance in the 1950s, where they won the title five times, and in the 1970s, where they won the title a further five times. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Canterbury dominated the competition, winning the title 20 out of 21 times, but Wellington were the side to break their streak, topping the points table in 1989–90 with three wins from four matches. The last time Wellington won the one-day competition was in 2003–04, when they shared the  trophy with Canterbury after the final was rained-off. They have lost in the final seven times since then, including three times in a row between 2008–09 and 2010–11. Wellington have also played in the Super Smash since its inaugural season in 2008–09, and are the most successful side in the history of the competition, with six title wins. They won the title in 2008–09, 2012–13, 2014–15 and three times in a row in 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20. In 2020–21, they lost in the final to Canterbury by 4 wickets, despite a hat-trick from Wellington bowler Amelia Kerr, and  Wellington batter Sophie Devine ending the season as the tournament's leading run-scorer. They regained their title in 2021–22, however, going unbeaten in the group stage before beating Otago Sparks in the final by 75 runs. Grounds. Wellington's primary home ground from their first match in 1937 until the 1950s was Basin Reserve, and they began using the ground consistently again from 2014. In between these periods, Wellington used grounds such as Kilbirnie Park in Wellington, Te Whiti Park in Lower Hutt and Petone Recreation Ground, also in Lower Hutt. From the 2000s, Wellington began using Karori Park , Wellington, as well as Trentham Memorial Park, Upper Hutt. In 2021–22, they played most of their matches at Basin Reserve, as well as two at Karori Park. Players. Current squad. Based on squad for the 2021–22 season. Players in bold have international caps. Notable players. Players who have played for Wellington and played internationally are listed below, in order of first international appearance (given in brackets):