The Blaze continued their rampant form as Western Storm miss out on finals day in the first of a T20 double header at Sophia Gardens.
Kathryn Bryce starred with both bat and ball to give The Blaze a 100 per cent win ratio, ending their group stage campaign with a mature run chase heading into the Charlotte Edwards Cup finals day on the back of a seven-wicket win.
Kathryn Bryce’s blistering 54 not out from just 37 balls and 2-17 from four overs helped her side to their unbeaten record.
The Blaze had already reached finals day coming into the fixture with six wins from six in the competition.
With Western Storm knowing a win in itself may not be enough to clinch fourth, they needed to be at their best to pick up five points.
Still playing for the importance of position in the table heading to finals day, The Blaze restricted Western Storm to 134-7 from their 20 overs.
The ball was thrown around seven bowlers, but Kathryn Bryce and Grace Ballinger were the picks of the bunch with 2-17 and 2-24, respectively.
No one could get going for Western Storm as The Blaze took wickets at key moments in order to restrict the hosts in the Welsh Capital.
Emma Corney top scored with 23, supported by Niamh Holland with 21.
Irish international, Orla Prendergast was one of three Storm batters to end on 19. She came out the blocks firing, hitting four boundaries, including three consecutively off Ballinger to set her mark early on before he was removed before any more damage could be done.
The Blaze started the pursuit in comfortable fashion. Sarah Bryce scoring 15 off 14 balls acted as a good cameo inside the powerplay before Georgie Boyce and her namesake took over the reigns in the middle overs.
After two quick wickets, Storm had a chance of grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck at 30-2, before the aforementioned Boyce (26) and Kathryn Bryce (54*) combined for a partnership of 66.
Leaving 39 from as many balls to win when Boyce departed, captain Marie Kelly played sensibly with a knack for picking gaps in the field to help the visitors cross the line by seven wickets with eight balls to spare.
