Melie Kerr, Maddy Green star as Wellington Blaze beat Otago Sparks in Super Smash

At the Basin Reserve, Wellington: Wellington Blaze 146-5 (Melie Kerr 46 off 42, Maddy Green 45no off 39; Emma Black 3-24 off 4) beat the Otago Sparks 127-8 (Kate Ebrahim 37 off 38, Suzie Bates 31 off 32; Leigh Kasperek 3-16 off 4, Jess Kerr 3-30 off 4) by 19 runs

White Ferns Melie Kerr and Maddy Green played leading roles with the bat as the Wellington Blaze made a winning start to their Twenty20 Super Smash title defence on Saturday afternoon in the capital.

Kerr made 46 off 42 balls and Green an unbeaten 45 off 36 as the Blaze posted 146-5 from their 20 overs after Kerr won the toss and elected to bat at the Basin Reserve.

Kate Ebrahim led the way for the Sparks, making 37 off 38, but once she fell with 53 needed off 25, there was only ever going to be one result, and her side slumped to finish at 127-8 and lose by 19 runs.

Melie Kerr and Green put on a 58-run partnership for the fourth wicket, lifting the Blaze from 52-3 in the eighth over to 110-4 in the 17th.

Jess Kerr fell for a duck, but Green found support from Leigh Kasperek, who finished not out on 13 off nine as the Blaze added 36 runs from the last 19 balls they faced.

Seamer Emma Black was the pick of the bowlers for the Sparks, taking 3-24 from her four overs, a haul that included two stumpings by Polly Inglis, one of them off Melie Kerr.

White Ferns veteran Suzie Bates made 31 off 32 balls at the top of the order as the Sparks began their chase of 147, but her side were 75-3 and behind the asking rate when she departed in the 14th over, caught by Melie Kerr off the bowling of Jess Kerr.

She had put on 49 for the third wicket with Ebrahim, but when the other set batter departed two overs later, the Sparks were up against it, needing an unlikely two runs per ball.

Kasperek finished with 3-16 from her four overs for the Blaze, while Jess Kerr picked up two wickets in the final over to finish with 3-30 from her four.

The big moment

With five overs to be bowled and 56 further runs required, the Sparks’ hopes rested on Ebrahim’s bat, so when Melie Kerr had her caught behind by Jess McFadyen off the fifth ball of the over that followed, the contest swung definitively in the Blaze’s favour.

Best with the bat

Green might have finished one run shy of Melie Kerr’s total, but by hitting two boundaries in the final three balls of the Blaze’s innings, she lifted her side’s total past 140 and left the Sparks dispirited as they left the field and began plotting their run chase.

Best with the ball

Kasperek bowled two overs inside the power play for the Blaze and picked up the wickets of Inglis and Olivia Gain, putting the Sparks on the back foot early on in their pursuit of 147.

The big picture

The Blaze have made the perfect start to their title defence and now head to Palmerston North on Tuesday to play the Central Hinds. The Sparks meanwhile head to Queenstown after Christmas, to play the Northern Brave on Wednesday and the Auckland Hearts on Thursday.