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The Dream 11 Super Smash Elimination Finals kick off tomorrow at Seddon Park in Hamilton with two exciting clashes being played out.
We kick off with the match between the Canterbury Kings and the Wellington Firebirds at 14:00. The two sides played each other on Monday in a game that Canterbury took out by 18 runs and it also booked them second spot in the competition. Read about that game here.
The Firebirds did win the first game between the two sides with Tim Robinson’s 86 and Nick Kelly 72* being the highlights with the bat that day whilst Michael Bracewell took 2/25 with the ball. Wellington were the winners on that day by 21 runs. Read about that game here.
Wellington has been able to gain the experienced Devon Conway and young exciting talent Rachin Ravindra (fresh off being named ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year) back from Blackcaps duty. They have joined Ben Sears and Adam Milne who both featured in the loss on Monday. Tim Robinson and Tom Blundell are still both sidelined with injuries and were unavailable for selection.
Whilst Wellington might have gained two Blackcaps, the Canterbury Kings have been able to gain three! Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, and Ish Sodhi will all be available to be selected in the playing XI with Jamieson making a potential return for the first time since the tests against Bangladesh. Daryl Mitchell (rest), Ed Nuttall, and Henry Shipley are all unavailable for the elimination final.
It will sure be a cracker of a match with a lot of international talent across both sides. Wellington has the services of internationals: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Bracewell, Adam Milne, Ben Sears, and Logan van Beek (Netherlands) whilst Canterbury has: Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Ish Sodhi, and Michael Rippon.
The fixture will also be a repeat of the 2021/22 summer’s elimination final when the Kings defeated the Firebirds in the final over. In that fixture, Michael Bracewell (81), Devon Conway (74*), and Peter Younghusband (2/20 from 3.3 overs) stood up for the Wellington side. However, a late cameo from Cam Fletcher (63* from 25) and Leo Carter (44*) got the side to a victory. Chad Bowes (51), Henry Shipley (1/21 from 4 overs), and Cole McConchie (0/24 from four overs) also stood up on the day to push the Kings to the elimination final.
Importantly for the Kings, it is their fourth elimination final in a row and they have won all four of them. Unfortunately, they haven’t succeeded in the big dance having lost to Wellington (2020/21) and then the Northern Brave (2021/22 & 2022/23). Canterbury’s only title in the competition was in the first season when they defeated the Auckland Aces at the Kennards Hire Community Oval.
The Firebirds on the other hand are one of the more successful sides in the competition having won the competition four times since the tournament began in the 2005/06 season. Their most recent championship was in the 2020/21 season when they defeated the Kings at the Cello Basin Reserve. They also won the competition the season before against the Auckland Aces at the same venue.
With a chance to face the Aces in the final both sides will be looking to play the best cricket they have this season!
The Wāhine then kick-off under lights at 18:00 with the Northern Brave taking on the Central Hinds.
Both sides have had spectacular seasons in comparison to recent years.
The Hinds stormed out with early wins over the Northern Brave in the opening two games. In their opening encounter, the Hinds snuck over the line in the last over via an important 35* by Hannah Rowe whilst Rosemary Mair picked up career-best figures of 3/18. Read more about it here. The Central girls then picked up their second win of the competition against the Brave with a close win at Fitzherbert Park with Ashtuti Kumar (2/19) and Thamsyn Newton (33) being the best performers for the Hinds. Read more about it here.
The Brave will go into the elimination final off the back of three wins in their last three games. It was two victories against Auckland and the critical win over the Otago Sparks that saw them gain the required points to be able to book second spot over the Hinds on NRR. However, you would have to say that the Brave’s most important victory was that over the Wellington Blaze. This was a win that got them to be able to kickstart their season after the first two losses.
Both sides will have talent across the board with the Hinds having internationally experienced players such as Nat Dodd, Hollie Armitage (England), Priyanaz Chatterji (Scotland), Claudia Green, Rosemary Mair, Thamsyn Newton, and Hannah Rowe. The Brave have Eimear Richardson (Ireland), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Caitlin Gurrey, Jess Watkin, Nensi Patel, Marina Lamplough (Hong Kong), and Carol Agafili (Samoa).
The Hinds last had a finals experience when they came runners-up in the 2015/16 season. They also won the competition in the 2009/10 season and came second in the inaugural 2007/08 season.
On the other hand, the Brave have never made the finals with their best finish being third in the 2007/08 season.
With these two teams having had little finals experience it will all be about which players can stand up and can push their side to victory with a chance to come up against seven-time champions, the Wellington Blaze.
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