Christmas Day will be that little bit sweeter for Jess Kerr after bowling Wellington to the top of the women’s Super Smash table.
The White Ferns all-rounder finished with incredible figures of 4-13 off four overs as the Blaze continued their perfect start to the season with a 40-run victory over the Auckland Hearts.
The win at the Basin Reserve was Wellington’s fourth in as many games, with a superior net run-rate seeing them take the lead ahead of fellow unbeaten outfit Otago.
Auckland actually did well to restrict the hosts to 143-5 after Rebecca Burns (42) and Amelia Kerr (42) laid a strong platform.
The first came courtesy of a terrific catch by Leigh Kasperek, who juggled the ball diving forward but managed to hold on to remove Auckland skipper Lauren Down for two.
Not to worry as the 23-year-old bowled the Hearts opener with the very next ball.
When Kerr had Holly Huddleston caught for a duck in the sixth over, the visitors were in need of a Christmas miracle at 24-4.
Bella Armstrong (31) and Arlene Kelly (25) finally provided some resistance, denying Kerr a five-for before adding some respectability to the total.
In the first innings, Burns combined with fellow opener Georgia Plimmer to get Wellington off to a positive start after winning the toss, reaching 41 by the end of the powerplay.
Spinners Peterson and Fran Jonas missed caught-and-bowled chances in quick succession, but Auckland didn’t have to wait much longer for the breakthrough.
The very next ball after being let off the hook, Plimmer was run out by a Saachi Shahri direct hit for 23.
