Rebecca Burns: Wellington Blaze batter ahead of the final women's T20 Super Smash round robin matches

The reigning champion Wellington Blaze top a congested ladder heading into the final stretch of the women's T20 Super Smash.

To look ahead to the final two matches of the round robin against Canterbury, Adam Cooper spoke to Blaze batter Rebecca Burns who brought up her 100th Super Smash match for the Blaze during the season.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Twenty seven past eight here on the All Sport Breakfast
on Wellington's News Talks, they'd be back for twenty twenty six.
Well The Super Smash cricket competition rolls on. In fact,
the final game of the final home game of the
season for our Firebirds and Blaze is Anniversary Day Monday,
two days away at the Basin Reserve, the Blaze and
Firebirds hosting Canterbury. Quite contrasting seasons for the Firebirds and

(00:22):
Blaze this season. The Blaze, of course defending champions in
this competition, top of the table with two matches to
go five wins to their name, but it is very
tight at the top Central Hinds with a game in hand,
only two points back. But you'd have to say the
Blaze all but confirmed in a playoff spots. Whether they
will be top qualifiers or not remains to be seen.

(00:42):
Firebirds has not been a great season for them, last
on the table, just one win to their name, batting
certainly struggling for the Firebirds this season. We're going to
go into the Blaze cap now of course leading the competition,
but I wanted to mark a special milestone that happened
over the summer better. Rebecca Burns brought up match number

(01:04):
one hundred for the Blaze in the Super Smash. She
did that at the base in Reserve just over a
week ago, and to celebrate her one hundredth game, coming
in at first drop, scoring fifty six of fifty two
runs for another half century for Rebecca Burns. So great
long term servant of this Blaze team and Rebecca joins
us now. Congratulations Rebecca, great occasion, great score. Must have

(01:26):
been a nice way to mark the summer for you.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, it's really exciting. Shows. They've probably been around a
while now, but to play one hundred games for your
province is something pretty special. So it was a very
exciting day.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Yeah. I guess when you say that, you've got seen
a few different coaches, You've had teammates come and go,
But I guess there has been a solid core of
you know, you and other teammates there through a lot
of that time in the Blaze as well, hasn't there?

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah? There has. Yeah, lots of people have come and gone,
coaches have come and gone, but there's been a solid
group of girls that have stuck around and play for Arrington.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
And how special was it for you? I'm sure plenty
of friends and family in the crowd too for the
special game was being able to get another half century
to you know.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah, it's always nice to put some runs on the
board and help the girls out, have some family in
the crowd. A nice speech to start the game off
one of the girls. So yeah, it was really nice.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Great stuff. And how has it been for you sort
of adapting to a few of the changes around you,
especially in the batting lineup this year obviously merely there
to start with, a couple of the aussy imports that
have come and gone. Georgia Plimmer sort of at the
top with you as well. What's that been like adapting
to the personnel around you, who are all pretty strong cricketers.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah, it's been a bit different, but we're pretty lucky
to have those players playing for our team and learning
off them. I've topped and changed a little bit, but
I think, you know, at this level and obviously been
playing for a long time, you got to adapt to
all the challenges.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
What is the best way that you find you adapt
Is it sort of thinking about it a lot beforehand,
working out how the others play or are out on
the pitch, or do you sort of just just focus
on yourself.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
I think I just sort of focus on my game.
I think if I think about it too much, probably
complicated a little still that when I did change betting
roles a little bit. So I think you just got
to go back to basics.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Yeah, where is your preference in the batting lineup? Oh?

Speaker 2 (03:28):
I love opening, I love the top of the order.
I think you've only got you've only got you've only
got two out the balls hard and then you can
sort of go hard at it a lot earlier.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
You know, is there the ability in your mindset to
play without any pressure in TEA twenty given how much
onus is on the openers to get that run rate
ticking up nice and early on.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
I guess maybe a little bit. But like like I
said that, I think you just got to go out
there and play your game. Fish and t Twinny cricket.
You're not going to succeed every time you go out there,
So it's just acknowledging that and just dying up there
and rarely trying to get the team off to a
good start, all right.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
And the season overall, obviously generally it's been another strong
one for the Blaze in a very congested competition in
terms of the top of the table. How competitive have
you felt this competition is, I guess saying, you know,
the likes of the Hines and others really push you
in terms of spots at that top end of the letter.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, the table is very close at the moment. It's
going to be probably an exciting finish. Any team could
make the finals, I think at the moment. So yeah,
I think we've just got to focus on our next
couple of games against Canterbury and try to get a
bonus point in a couple of wins.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, I'd probably quite rere you get to this point
in the season and you haven't played a team and
Canterbury you've got, you know, your last two games facing
up against them, So how do you know, have you
spent much time watching them? Do you kind of just
assess them a little bit leading up to Monday and
next Friday.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, we've been watching him a little bit. I think
that's exciting for us to really go out there and
put a couple of strong performances on and get to
that final spot and just probably test some different combos
and stuff like that.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
The game rained off during the week against the Sparks.
I guess from a batting perspective, everyone in the Blaze
or the most of the lineup got a bit of
a time out in the middle. Do you still benefit
from that even though things were called off early in
the Sparks chase?

Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh, we're lucky that we can bat. All eleven players
com bat and they all got to go.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
Really and just what ask us as well about the
coaching change this year? What kind of new energy is
Johnny brought to the team as permanent head coach now
across formats?

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Oh, it's really exciting. He's come in and done a
really good job with the girls. Probably different challenge for
him because he came in and just did to E
twenty last year. But he's doing a formatt and all
the girls really enjoy Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Great, And just overall, you're in a pretty familiar position,
you know, top of the table, approaching playoffs where you
know the Blazer will have a strong chance here. What's
most important in terms of mindset with a couple of
games to go in the round robin, making sure you're
in the best possible shape to do well in playoffs
this year?

Speaker 2 (06:21):
I think we just got to stick to our processes.
We've played some really good fifty over cricket and I
think we just got to continue doing that. I just
got to get runs and take with it, and that's
what we'll be doing. We'll be having to get that
that fine spot for HBJ and hopefully we can try
to get the two titles.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
Yeah, absolutely, we'll be Congratulations on the summer and your
master and your form. Really appreciate your time as always
here on News talks 'B and go well for these
last couple of round robin games ahead of the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Thank you so much, EDAM appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
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