2024/25 Super Smash Scout: All Things Auckland, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury
Central Districts Stags are the best men's team in Super Smash right now, while that honour is shared between Wellington Blaze and Otago Sparks in the women's competition. The recent game days have seen Wellington host CD for a win for each team and Canterbury grabbed two wins over Auckland, so this Super Smash Scout zones in on key details for these eight teams.
Otago has already had the 'All Things Otago' treatment and Northern Districts has only played two games so they don't feature here. There are still Otago bits and bobs in this yarn, while the latest round of ND action was covered here.
Auckland
The Hearts suffered a heavy defeat in Christchurch with no batter scoring 30+ runs in their 138/6, then they only took one wicket as Canterbury cruised to victory. Auckland currently has no batter with 100+ runs or 120+ strike-rates and Fran Jonas is their only bowler who has taken 4+ wickets (7w @ 12avg/6rpo). In three full games, Hearts have not passed 140 runs and they haven't bowled out their opponent.
After a strong performance at Eden Park, Aces slipped up at Hagley Oval. 19-year-old Lachlan Stackpole made his debut in Christchurch as an off-spinner who grabbed his first wicket by sliding a delivery past the edge of Harry Chamberlain (1w @ 6.3rpo). Stackpole played at the U19 World Cup a year ago and joins Matt Rowe, Mason Clarke, Zac Cumming in stepping up to domestic cricket this summer from that squad.
Interestingly, Stackpole didn't bowl at the U19 World Cup. He was one three kiwi batters who scored 90+ runs in the tournament with 92 runs @ 23avg/98sr. While Stackpole was dismissed for a duck vs Canterbury, he was the most economical bowler for Auckland and he opened the bowling alongside fellow spinner Will O'Donnell.
Jock McKenzie snared 3w @ 8rpo for Aces and he is one of many exciting talents on the rise in Aotearoa. The 23-year-old is tied with Danru Ferns for the most Auckland wickets and they are the only Aces bowlers with 4+ wickets, plus McKenzie has scored 45 runs @ 22avg/115sr. There is a trend of young seamers who are athletic and combine good pace with skills, plus many of them mentioned below are all-rounders. Mason Clarke is one example who won't feature below because he plays for Otago but he fits into this trend and at 17-years-old, he's the youngest lad.
Central Districts
Hinds are 4-0. They haven't scored 120+ runs in their four games and have dipped below 100 in two games. They haven't bowled out their opposition either and have taken a combined 3w in their last two losses. English import Hollie Armitage is the only CD batter with 50+ runs and an average over 15. The loveliest wrinkle is Ocean Bartlett being CD's best bowler on 6w @ 14.5avg/6.3rpo.
Stags had an epic win vs Wellington in which 21-year-old Toby Findlay made his debut and 23-year-old Will Clark steered his team to victory. Findlay is in the young seamer trend with an athletic style of bowling and he must have been bowling with decent pace as he sent down a few bouncers at Tom Blundell which weren't dispatched for boundaries.
Findlay most resembles Matt Fisher (another athletic young seamer with skills) but his swing and flowing action is aligned with the McKenzie/Clarke duo. This was Findlay's Super Smash debut but he made his Plunket Shield debut early in 2023 in which he took a wicket.
Clark went for 23 runs in his one over for CD but him be tasked with bowling tricky overs is a mark of how his all-round talent is viewed for Stags. Already averaging 35 or below as a bowler across all three formats, Clark's best mahi comes in T20 cricket where he puts up 19.5avg/9.7rpo.
With the bat, Clark averages 42.4 in First-Class and 39.7 in List-A. With a T20 batting record of 26.2avg/120sr, Clark hit 23 runs @ 191.6sr and smacked the winning runs vs Wellington. This gives Clark 69 runs @ 156.8sr in the Super Smash and he is brewing as the best youngster that most folks don't know about.
Jack Boyle put up another score with 77 runs @ 179sr at the top of the Stags line up, taking him to 162 runs @ 40.5avg/148.6sr. Boyle had one 50+ score in four Plunket Shield games and before that, he stacked up 238 runs @ 47.6avg/94sr in Ford Trophy with a century and two 50+ burgers. This means that Boyle is averaging 40+ in Ford Trophy and Super Smash this summer.
Brett Randell this summer with his career mahi in that format...
Plunket Shield: 11w @ 19.2avg/2.5rpo (25.1avg/2.8rpo)
Ford Trophy: 2w @ 93.5avg/5.6rpo (24.2avg/5.1rpo)
Super Smash: 5w @ 19.2avg/7.2rpo (28.1avg/9.1rpo)
Wellington
Kerr sisters are awesome...
Jess Kerr: 142 runs @ 71avg/137.8sr | 7w @ 10avg/5.8rpo
Amelia Kerr: 108 runs @ 108avg/114.8sr | 6w @ 9.8avg/4.9rpo
Blaze will need others to chime in though as they chase a new chapter of their Super Smash dynasty. Xara Jetly stepped up to take 3w @ 6.2rpo vs CD and Leigh Kasperek snared 1w @ 6.8rpo, then Rebecca Burns whacked 50 runs @ 142.8sr in the run chase.
Burns hit her first 10+ score of the Super Smash, Jetly took her first wickets of the campaign and Kasperek, well she has at least a wicket in all three games with 7w @ 8avg/5.4rpo all up. Blaze have youngsters filling spots in their team which increases the value of players like Kasperek, Burns, Jetly, Jess McFadyen, Caitlin King and Nicole Baird who will need to support their best players.
Tim Robinson returned to the Firebirds with 89 runs @ 156sr and he's been churning out solid scores stretching back to Plunket Shield, then T20Is vs Sri Lanka: 92, 9, 35, 35, 11, 41, 37, 57, 89.
Ben Sears returned from injury with 2w @ 9.7rpo, in his first game of top level cricket since April's Blackcaps tour of Pakistan. With a T20 record of 20.4avg/7.9rpo and T20I record of 22.3avg/8.1rpo, Sears is one of the best T20 bowlers in Aotearoa and now he's back in the mix.
Muhammad Abbas joins Robinson as the only Firebirds batters with 50+ scores in their three games and he hit 2* vs CD. While he's an enticing batting talent, Abbas offers lefty seam and his smooth style of bowling fits the trend of young seamers in Aotearoa. Most notably, Abbas is getting more overs as he is one of three Wellington bowlers who has had 10 overs in Super Smash.
Abbas only has 1w @ 95avg/9.5rpo but he is getting the opportunity, which is important considering he didn't bowl in Plunket Shield or Ford Trophy earlier this summer. As one of the best young cricketers in Aotearoa, Abbas has a point of difference and it will be interesting to track how effective he is in Super Smash.
Canterbury
Kate Anderson is the best player for Magicians after rolling out three consecutive 30+ scores, which peaked with 75* in the win vs Auckland. Along with scores of 38 then 43, these knocks are Anderson's only innings over 30 this summer as she put up 23 runs @ 5.7avg/64sr in HBJ Shield.
Missy Banks took 2w @ 10rpo vs Auckland and she is the leading wicket-taker for Canterbury on 7w @ 16.4avg/7.1rpo. With wickets in all four Super Smash games so far, Banks is also tied with Shikha Pandey for the most overs bowled (16) for Canterbury.
Chad Bowes hit 59 runs @ 190sr and Michael Rippon scored 44* @ 147sr for Canterbury, then Zak Foulkes added typically efficient mahi. Foulkes scored 19 runs @ 127sr alongside Rippon and finished off the Auckland run chase with 3w @ 6.7rpo. This gives Foulkes 10 consecutive innings (at least) with a wicket which stretches across T20, T20I and Plunket Shield.
Foulkes has also batted in nine innings and he has three not-outs, with three scores over 20. His most recent 20+ score was 21* @ 161.5sr in the third T20I vs Sri Lanka and his T20I performances are aligned with his T20 record...
T20I: 18.3avg/148.6sr | 26.3avg/9rpo
T20: 15.6avg/131.4sr | 19.2avg/7.9rpo
Michael Rae took 3w @ 8.7rpo vs Auckland and he also has a wicket-taking streak, with seven consecutive innings featuring a wicket. Rae now has 5w @ 17.2avg/8.6rpo in Super Smash and the only bloke with more wickets for Canterbury is Henry Shipley, who didn't score a run or take a wicket vs Auckland.
Rhys Mariu has played his first two Super Smash games, producing 15 runs @ 107sr. Starting with 100+ strike-rate is the first checkpoint and Mariu will now be looking to bounce of Bowes' easy mahi striking at the top of Canterbury's batting line up. 23-year-old Mariu is a Plunket Shield monster (71avg) but he's yet to deliver big runs in Ford Trophy (14.5avg) and has just started his Super Smash career.
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