2024/25 Super Smash Scout: Max Chu, Bree Illing & Upset Wins
Super Smash cricket is underway in Aotearoa with rain rubbing out most of the first game day between Northern Districts and Auckland, then Canterbury women and Otago men grabbed wins in Alexandra. This leads directly into the first observation from the Super Smash Scout...
Last season Canterbury women and Otago men both finished fifth with two wins each. Otago women and Canterbury men both had five wins last season. Both rolled out strong teams to play their first games of this summer with at least three White Ferns/Blackcaps in their 1st 11s, yet the winning teams in Alexandra had no current White Ferns or Blackcaps.
It gets funkier because Canterbury women are at the bottom of the HBJ Shield ladder with a 1-5 record, while Otago men are fourth in Ford Trophy (2-3) and sixth in Plunket Shield (0-2-2). That smells a lot like two upset wins.
Otago have had runs from Max Chu all summer though. Chu led the Otago batting innings with 82 runs @ 178sr, batting up the order at three and led Otago to victory as skipper. Chu hit three sixes which was the most for both games in Alexandra and he registered his highest score in T20 cricket. In his last innings prior to Super Smash, Chu hit 130 runs in the Plunket Shield which means that Chu has put up his highest First-Class and T20 scores in consecutive innings.
Chu has efficient scoring in the last three seasons of Super Smash and it will be interesting to see A) if he holds down a top order spot and B) if he can sustain a 140+ strike-rate in this role. Chu’s last three Super Smash seasons...
2022/23: 19 runs @ 6avg/136sr
2023/24: 125 runs @ 21avg/169sr
2024/25: 82 runs @ 178sr
Only 12 overs was played between Northern Districts and Auckland women, which was plenty of time to see Bree Illing shine as the best emerging lefty bowler in New Zealand. Illing took 2w @ 5.6rpo in her 3ov and she offered classical lefty swing, also showing her pace and bounce which is aligned with the Penfold sisters.
Illing has already bowled more overs in HBJ Shield to start this summer than she did all of last season, with more wickets, a lower average and better economy rate. After a brief flurry in the first game, Illing looks on track to improve on her Super Smash mahi from last season and she may demand a White Ferns promotion if she keeps this up. Illing’s wickets this season: 2, 0, 4, 2, 2, 3, 2
HBJ Shield
23/24: 56ov, 11w @ 26.6avg/5.2rpo
24/25: 57ov, 13w @ 17.5avg/4rpo
Super Smash
23/24: 30ov, 6w @ 31.5avg/6.3rpo
24/25: 3ov, 2w @ 8.5avg/5.6rpo
Missy Banks had small but notable contributions to help propel Canterbury to victory. Finishing off their batting innings, Banks scored 14* @ 140sr which took Canterbury over 130 runs, then she dismissed Bella James in the first over and came back later in the innings to dismiss Polly Inglis who was set on 29 runs @ 88sr.
No player had a higher batting strike-rate than Banks in this game and she was one of three bowlers who conceded less than 5rpo across both teams. There is a wee example of Banks' sneaky batting ability in her last three games as she has has 10+ scores moving through the three different tiers of batting strike-rates: 11 runs @ 52sr, 11 runs @ 100sr, 14* @ 140sr.
Banks' best pocket is T20 bowling where she averages 20.5, well below her List-A average of 52.4. Last season Banks only bowled in five of the nine games she played (13.5ov) and was efficient in those limited opportunities with 4w @ 24avg/6.9rpo.
Her HBJ Shield mahi this summer is aligned with her career stuff as she took 4w @ 47avg/3.6rpo but there was a notable jump in workload as Banks only played three HBJ Shield games last season with 21.3ov, 4w @ 26avg/4.8rpo. This season Banks has bowled in all six games and bowled the most overs for Canterbury (52ov), which flowed into Banks being one of three Canterbury bowlers to bowl 4ov vs Otago and she was the only kiwi in that trio.
17-year-old Mason Clarke made his debut for Otago, bowling against Chad Bowes and Tom Latham. That's a tricky spot for a youngster to make his debut and Clarke went for 14rpo off his 2ov, before snaring the wicket of Bowes who was cruising along on 24 runs @ 218sr. Clarke only bowled at the start of the innings where he was able to get a bit of movement and despite being the youngest player in Super Smash, Clarke bowled with decent pace and looks physically capable of playing at this level.
As noted in our Friday newsletter, Clarke snared 7w @ 15avg/5.5rpo at the Under 19 World Cup earlier this year where he was the youngest member of the squad. While Matt Rowe and Ewald Schreuder took more wickets than Clarke, the youngster from Queenstown had the lowest average of all kiwi bowlers at this tournament. Including a U19 World Cup warm up game, Clarke has taken 2w, 3w, 0w, 4w and 1w in his last five games.
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