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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from newstalksb.

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Speaker 2: In domestic crickets Super Smash competition. After yesterday's finals at

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Speaker 2: Hagley Oval in Christchurch, the Wellington Blaze have completed a

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Speaker 2: three peet in the women's T twenty competition in dramatic fashion.

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Speaker 1: Well that'll do it.

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Speaker 3: She has got all of that, jest cur put that.

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Speaker 1: Over the rope.

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Speaker 2: Here we go, Here we go?

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Speaker 1: What's the answer from the hearts?

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Speaker 3: Here tries to go again?

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Speaker 1: As she got all of it? Yes she has.

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Speaker 3: Jessica second six in the over.

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Speaker 2: Becky Burns is enjoying it. Wellington side. They are all

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Speaker 2: up and about now.

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Speaker 3: Go set offside?

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Speaker 1: Has she got that one through you?

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Speaker 3: She has?

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Speaker 2: Jesker What the last over from.

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Speaker 3: The Wellington Blaze skipper see how much it means to them?

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Speaker 2: Incredible stuff. Netting sixteen off the last over. Blaze captain

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Speaker 2: Jess Kerr hit two six's and then a winning boundary

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Speaker 2: to see her side home by five wickets against Auckland.

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Speaker 2: Jess k is with us. Jess congratulations on a terrific

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Speaker 2: performance individually and leading this team to another championship. Can

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Speaker 2: we go to the last over sixteen kneaded off six balls.

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Speaker 2: You're out there with another experienced player in Jess mcfatg,

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Speaker 2: and what sort of conversations are you having at that time?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the first thing was believing you can

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Speaker 3: do it. At that point, it's sort of like it's

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Speaker 3: almost given because there's so many runs you just have

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Speaker 3: to go and funny things can happen, and yeah, slightly

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Speaker 3: shorter boundaries, but yeah, I think the leaf was the

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Speaker 3: big one, and also just we have to run hard

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Speaker 3: as well. And yeah, Jess gave up her wicket there

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Speaker 3: to get me back on strike, and I think Jess

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Speaker 3: Simmons was willing to do the same too. But yeah,

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Speaker 3: huge belief in the team throughout the whole game, not

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Speaker 3: just that last over.

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Speaker 2: And two big sixers down the ground that basically won

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Speaker 2: the game for your team. Jess, was that an area

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Speaker 2: that you were targeting ahead of the over? And I

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Speaker 2: know you've got to get the right delivery, but was

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Speaker 2: that an area that you felt the most comfortable hitting too.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. It's funny because throughout the season I've been caught

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Speaker 3: on the boundary a bit and getting told off from

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Speaker 3: my dad and people that you can't just give your

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Speaker 3: wicket away hitting to hitting to the boundary, trying to

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Speaker 3: hit a six. But again that situation you probably did

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Speaker 3: need a six or a number of fours, so when

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Speaker 3: it comes to the last over, you'd sort of have

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Speaker 3: the license to do that. But yeah, it was again

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Speaker 3: not overhitting, watching the ball and reacting still too. But

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Speaker 3: if it's there, then you have three those levers, I guess.

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Speaker 2: And then absolutely and then the final, the final runs

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Speaker 2: four through cover. How are the emotions when when that

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Speaker 2: ball hits the rope and you've won the game.

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Speaker 3: Oh, I think I was fluttered with all sorts of

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Speaker 3: emotions and I think that's the beautiful thing about sports

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Speaker 3: as well. And in those moments there's such highs and

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Speaker 3: such lows and wild wide I want to ride the

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Speaker 3: highs and lows too much. That was a moment that

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Speaker 3: that did feel really special and I think I'll remember

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Speaker 3: for the rest of my life. Yeah, it's been a

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Speaker 3: tricky season this year, you know, losing nearly with the

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Speaker 3: WPR and not having internationals for the finals, but the

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Speaker 3: domestic girls have really stood up and to do it,

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Speaker 3: do a win like that with with all Wellington local

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Speaker 3: players is just so special.

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Speaker 2: And what is it about the Blaze and tight finals

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Speaker 2: in this competition? You won it by eight runs last year,

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Speaker 2: by one run the previous summer. Last night victory off

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Speaker 2: the second to last delivery, did it just like keeping

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Speaker 2: your fans on the edge of the seats?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think Finals cricket does funny things, especially in

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Speaker 3: the super smash. It's been quite the trend of for

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Speaker 3: a number of years. But yeah, I guess the Blaze

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Speaker 3: have just found a method to win from any situation.

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Speaker 3: And like I touched on, belief, such a big word

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Speaker 3: we use in our environment, and also what I said

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Speaker 3: to the group after their game tour, we're really proud

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Speaker 3: of each other's successes. It doesn't it might not be

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Speaker 3: you every single game, but as long as we're getting

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Speaker 3: over the line, everyone's really happy for each other and

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Speaker 3: just great humans, so that the culture is a really

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Speaker 3: great one to be around at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Very cool at the change of itningsgested one hundred and

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Speaker 2: forty seven. Feel chasable for the Blaze on that wicket.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely, I guess Finals cricket does. That probably adds

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Speaker 3: to the total a bit, but having bowled on that

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Speaker 3: first I thought it was a really nice, nice wicket.

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Speaker 3: If you missed wide or too full, you just you

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Speaker 3: could just free the levers. And the outfield of Heckley

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Speaker 3: Oval is just divine really to the ball races away.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, I was I was confident. I thought we

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Speaker 3: did very well to bring it back to that total.

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Speaker 3: They probably could have scored a bit more with having

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Speaker 3: a couple of in batters close to the ends. So yeah,

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Speaker 3: again belief. You just got to believe no matter what

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Speaker 3: score they got, that we can chase it.

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Speaker 2: And there's a couple applies in the team with you

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Speaker 2: who have been part of, you know, this long period

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Speaker 2: of success. I think that was Rebecca Burns's eighth T

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Speaker 2: twenty championship with the Blaze. Seven for year. I think

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Speaker 2: seven for Jess mcfadgin as well is number seven though

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Speaker 2: just as special.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think everyone is special, but this one certainly

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Speaker 3: hits home a bit more. I think, Yeah, I guess

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Speaker 3: the opportunity to lead this side with merely going and

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Speaker 3: like I touched on the without the likes of you know,

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Speaker 3: white ferns depth that we've had in the past. Usually

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Speaker 3: we have five or six white Funds in our team.

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Speaker 3: And last year we had internationals during the final two.

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Speaker 3: So to do this with a very young, sort of

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Speaker 3: inexperienced side, and also to captain it and challenge myself

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Speaker 3: to it, this one's felt a little closer to home.

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Speaker 2: I guess, how did you find the experience and the

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Speaker 2: challenge of captaining the side?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I was making a joke. I was a bit

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Speaker 3: of bad luck. Initially. I kept losing tosses and I

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Speaker 3: think my first two games i'd lost on the trot,

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Speaker 3: so I was getting a little bit concerned and at

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Speaker 3: some point, but yeah, I guess just the more you

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Speaker 3: do it, the more you grow and learn. And I've

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Speaker 3: had some great mentors around me with you Johnny Georgia

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Speaker 3: Plummer has been a great help, and also the team

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Speaker 3: as well, just how they've got behind sort of you know,

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Speaker 3: running around and hustling in the field and the energy

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Speaker 3: they show. And my dad's been such an incredible influence

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Speaker 3: as well with helping me. So it's been a great

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Speaker 3: learning and I think it will certainly help my cricket

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Speaker 3: moving forward to even if I'm not keptaining, just thinking

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Speaker 3: a bit deeper about the game.

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Speaker 2: And you can enjoy this obviously, and then the domestic

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Speaker 2: summer continues, but the international summer is also on the horizon.

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Speaker 2: Zimbabwe and South Africa both here for ten twenties and ODI.

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Speaker 2: It's a tour of England in June, a World Cup

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Speaker 2: to look forward to. How much are you looking forward

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Speaker 2: to getting back in the White Fern's environment and representing

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Speaker 2: New Zealand again.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm so proud to be a Wellingtonian and I'm

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Speaker 3: also very very proud to be a New Zealander, so

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Speaker 3: wearing both of those shirts means so much to me.

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Speaker 3: And you're hopefully having that opportunity to represent New Zealand

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Speaker 3: at home and then at another World Cup would be

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Speaker 3: very special if I'm given the opportunity.

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Speaker 2: All right, Well, looking forward to seeing how that goes

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Speaker 2: in the meantime. Jess, congratulations for your role in this

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Speaker 2: win in the final and to the Blaze as well

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Speaker 2: for going going three in a row in the T

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Speaker 2: twenty super Smash and joy it and thanks so much

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Speaker 2: for chatting.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Jason, appreciate it now.

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Speaker 2: I appreciate you joining us, Jess. Thanks indeed, Jess Kerr

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Speaker 2: there captain of the Wellington Blaze.

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Speaker 1: So love one for more from weekend Sport with Jason Fine.

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Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talk zed B weekends from midday,

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio