Wellington Blaze

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 have gone on to win the Shield (under various names) 18 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. They next won the one-day competition was in 2003–04, when they shared the trophy with Canterbury after the final was rained-off. Between 2006–07 and 2021–22, they lost in the final seven times, including three times in a row between 2008–09 and 2010–11, before again winning the competition in 2022–23, beating Canterbury in the final.

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. In 2022–23, they played most of their matches at Basin Reserve, as well as two at Hutt Recreation Ground.

Players

Current squad

Based on squad for the 2023–24 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):

• NZL Hilda Buck (1935)
• NZL Mabel Corby (1935)
• NZL Agnes Ell (1935)
• NZL Phyl Blackler (1948)
• NZL Vi Farrell (1948)
• NZL Joan Francis (1948)
• NZL Billie Fulford (1948)
• NZL Joan Hatcher (1948)
• NZL Ina Lamason (1948)
• NZL Joy Lamason (1948)
• NZL Dot Bailey (1949)
• NZL Verna Coutts (1954)
• NZL Jean Coulston (1954)
• NZL Joyce Currie (1954)
• NZL Jean Stonell (1957)
• NZL Gwen Sutherland (1957)
• NZL Betty Thorner (1957)
• AUS Joyce Dalton (1958)
• NZL Jackie Lord (1966)
• NZL Trish McKelvey (1966)
• NZL Betty Maker (1966)
• NZL Wendy Coe (1966)
• NZL Barbara Bevege (1973)
• NZL Maureen Peters (1973)
• NZL Cheryl Henshilwood (1977)
• NZL Viv Sexton (1978)
• NZL Linda Lindsay (1978)
• NZL Linda Fraser (1982)
• NZL Mary Harris (1982)
• ENG Gillian McConway (1982)
• Netherlands Ingrid van der Elst (1982)
• NZL Di Caird (1984)
• NZL Jackie Clark (1984)
• NZL Nancy Williams (1985)
• NZL Julie Harris (1987)
• NZL Penny Kinsella (1988)
• NZL Maia Lewis (1992)
• NZL Karen Musson (1993)
• NZL Justine Russell (1995)
• NZL Jill Saulbrey (1995)
• NZL Justine Fryer (1996)
• NZL Anna Smith (1996)
• NZL Losi Harford (1997)
• NZL Erin McDonald (2000)
• ENG Mandie Godliman (2002)
• NZL Frances King (2002)
• NZL Anna Dodd (2002)
• NZL Fiona Fraser (2002)
• NZL Amanda Green (2003)
• AUS Kate Blackwell (2004)
• IRE Eimear Richardson (2005)
• ENG Sarah Taylor (2006)
• NZL Sophie Devine (2006)
• NZL Rachel Priest (2007)
• NZL Lucy Doolan (2008)
• AUS Lauren Ebsary (2008)
• NZL Sian Ruck (2009)
• NZL Liz Perry (2010)
• ENG Fran Wilson (2010)
• Netherlands Kerry-Anne Tomlinson (2011)
• NZL Maddy Green (2012)
• NZL Leigh Kasperek (2015)
• NZL Thamsyn Newton (2015)
• NZL Amelia Kerr (2016)
• SCO Priyanaz Chatterji (2018)
• AUS Erin Burns (2019)
• NZL Jess Kerr (2020)
• NZL Georgia Plimmer (2022)
• NZL Jess McFadyen (2022)
• NZL Rebecca Burns (2022)

Coaching staff

• Head Coach: Lance Dry
• Batting Coach: Luke Woodcock

Honours

• Hallyburton Johnstone Shield:
  • Winners (17): 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1989–90, 2022–23; shared (1): 2003–04
• Women's Super Smash:
  • Winners (10): 2008–09, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26

References

References

1. "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1935–36". CricketArchive.
2. "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1937–38". CricketArchive.
3. "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1938–39". CricketArchive.
4. "Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield 1939–40". CricketArchive.
5. Watkin, Evan. (October 2015). "The History of Women’s Domestic Cricket in New Zealand". [[Cricket Wellington]].
6. "Hansells Cup 1989–90 Table". CricketArchive.
7. "Canterbury Women v Wellington Women, 31 January, 1 February 2004". CricketArchive.
8. "Wellington Women v Canterbury Women, February 12 2021". ESPNCricinfo.
9. "Records/New Zealand Cricket Women's Twenty20, 2020/21/Most Runs". ESPNCricinfo.
10. "New Zealand Cricket Women's Twenty20 2021/22/Table". ESPNCricinfo.
11. "Final, Hamilton, Jan 29 2022, Women's Super Smash: Wellington Women v Otago Women". ESPNCricinfo.
12. "Women's First-Class Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive.
13. "Women's List A Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive.
14. "Women's Twenty20 Matches played by Wellington Women". CricketArchive.
15. (18 August 2023). "Rees and Sims Complete Wellington Transfers, Hannah Francis and Phoenix Williams Awarded Contracts; 2023-24 Blaze Contracts Unveiled". Wellington Cricket.
16. "Wellington Women Players". CricketArchive.
17. "Former Black Cap Luke Woodcock, Lance Dry to team up as Wellington Blaze coaches". Stuff.