Dream11 Super Smash – Week 3 Review

By Aiden McLaughlin

Canterbury Magicians (141-4) beat Central Hinds (137-7) by 6 wickets

An overcast Friday afternoon at Hagley Oval saw the first action of the weekend as Frankie Mackay’s Magicians hosted Jess Watkin’s Hinds. Watkin won the toss and chose to bat. On the back of two consecutive defeats, Watkin was keen to get her side out there to give it a go. Although the skipper was first to depart for 7 off 18 balls, fellow opener Natalie Dodd was her side’s star performer with the bat, scoring a half century before being stumped for 52 off 40 balls, at the start of the 16th over. Support came via Mikaela Greig, who scored 36 from 26 balls, in a third wicket partnership of 64 with Dodd. In the 17th over, Mackay struck twice to take the wickets of Kerry Tomlinson and Rosemary Mair although Emily Cunningham and Claudia Green were able to see the Hinds post a competitive total. The Hinds bowling effort started well, with Green taking the wicket of Abigale Gerken in the first over, but Gerken’s opening partner, Natalie Cox (making her 50th T20 appearance for the Magicians) took charge of the chase. After the fourth wicket fell for the Magicians in the 16th over, Lea Tahuhu joined Cox with 56 needed from 22 balls. Tahuhu, playing as a batter only, smashed 39 from 16 balls (including two 4’s and three 6’s) as she and Cox got their side over the line with one ball remaining.

 

Canterbury Kings (172-8) beat Central Stags (125) by 47 runs

Like the Magicians, the Kings came into this match on the back of a fortnight’s break after a first up defeat (to Wellington) in the competition. The Stags on the other hand, were two wins from two. The home skipper, Cole McConchie, won the toss and decided that his side would set a total for the visitors to chase under the Hagley floodlights. It was a faltering start however as their top three were back in the pavilion after 5.1 overs  with 38 runs on the board. McConchie, in at four, and Cam Fletcher, brought the score through to 73-4 before Doug Bracewell took the wicket of Fletcher to bring T20 debutant Mitch Hay to the middle. This duo put on 67 for the fifth wicket with Hay hitting a rapid 29 off 16 balls, while McConchie top scored with 84 off 54 balls, to help his side to decent total of 172. The Stags, so impressive in their first two matches, simply couldn’t get going with the bat and were three down by the end of the fifth over with just 28 runs scored. After a fourth wicket partnership of 30 between Christian Leopard and Tom Bruce got them through to 58 at the halfway stage of their reply, the required run rate quickly grew and as the away side tried to accelerate, they just couldn’t score the boundaries needed to stay in touch, as they were bowled out 47 runs short in the last ball of their 20 overs.

 

Otago Sparks (139-6) beat Northern Brave (135-4) by 4 wickets

The University of Otago Oval hosted the second double header of the weekend. The Sparks and Brave had played each other in a 50 over Hallyburton Johnstone Shield at the same ground the previous day, a match which had fallen to the weather, but not before Sparks captain Suzie Bates made 138 in a first wicket partnership of 235 with Kate Ebrahim. With the Brave’s Saturday innings washed out, Bates won the toss, and put them in, confident that they could chase down a score. After Lucy Boucher departed in the third over, with the score at 17-1, Brave captain Kate Anderson and Sam Barriball put on 98 for the second wicket before both fell in three balls at the end of the seventeenth/start of the eighteenth overs, with Anderson having scored 52 and Barriball 39. Although the Brave managed to get up to 135, there was a feeling, given the heavy run scoring on the same wicket the day before, that it was 25/30 runs short of a par score. The chase started strongly, with Bates and Inglis put on 27 before Bates was caught sharply by Sarsfield off the bowling of Patel off the first ball of the fourth over. Polly Inglis, Katey Martin, Ebrahim and Caitlin Blakely all made contributions to leave the Sparks looking comfortable until the 19th over, when, with just five runs needed, Nensi Patel took the wickets of Blakely and Marina Lamplough and Bella James was run out to see three wickets fall in five balls. Ebrahim, unbeaten on 38 and Eden Carson managed to see the home team through though, with two balls left.

 

Otago Volts (151-7) beat Northern Brave (146-8) by 3 wickets

The final match of the weekend saw the Volts and Brave looking for the first win of the competition, after the Volts had lost to the Stags in their first game, and the Brave’s match against the Volts at Seddon Park last weekend ended in a rain affected no result. Hamish Rutherford won the toss and sent the Brave in, with Katene Clarke and recently returned Black Cap Tim Seifert opening for the visitors. Seifert hit a quickfire 14 off 7 balls and Clarke went on to score 49 off 37, but despite that, other contributions were limited and the Brave would have been disappointed in their total of 146. Michael Rippon’s dismissals of Colin de Grandhomme and Peter Bocock at the end of the fourteenth over stalled their progress, when their scoreboard suddenly read 104-6. Neil Broom anchored the Volts response, after he arrived in the middle at the end of the first over when Rutherford was dismissed by Scott Kuggeleijn. It would be the sole highlight for the Brave bowler who ended up going for 51 runs in his 3.4 overs. Broom, who scored 62, shared a third wicket partnership of 45 with Anaru Kitchen and a fifth wicket stand of 46 with Llew Johnson, which left them needing 18 with 17 balls remaining. The wickets of Rippon and Broom in the penultimate over, bowled by Anurag Verma, jangled the nerves in the home dressing room, but they managed to get over the winning line with two balls remaining.

 

Week 4 Fixtures

Friday 17th December (Seddon Park)

3.10pm – Northern Brave v Auckland Hearts

6.40pm – Northern Brave v Auckland Aces

 

Saturday 18th December (McLean Park)

11.10am – Central Hinds v Otago Sparks

2,40pm – Central Stags v Otago Volts

 

Sunday 19th December (Basin Reserve)

10.10am – Wellington Blaze v Canterbury Magicians

1.40pm – Wellington Firebirds v Canterbury Kings

 

Monday 20th December (Eden Park Outer Oval)

11.10am – Auckland Hearts v Northern Brave

2.40pm – Auckland Aces v Northern Brave

 

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