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By Vincent Jones and Otis Murray
The Super Smash is back for the 2024/25 season with more action-packed cricket around Aotearoa!
With international players in the Women’s competition and household names across the Men’s, it will likely be a summer filled with exciting action for all to enjoy.
Vincent Jones and Otis Murray review each side across both competitions.
Men's:
Northern Brave
The 23/24 wooden spoon winners hope to come off with a better rub of the green this year.
Star man Tim Seifert will be out for most of the competition being at the BBL while Kane Williamson will be at the SA20.
Great white ball bowlers have been hard to come by for Northern Districts with no one over five wickets having an average below 30. Matt Fisher is third equal throughout the red ball competition with 14 wickets.
The batting has been the strong suit of the side so far this season with Henry Cooper averaging 55 in the Ford Trophy along with Brett Hampton at 40.
Jeet Raval leads the way in the Plunket Shield averaging 62 while four others average over 50 with the bat.
If the Brave can find a way to transfer red ball performance to white ball performance it needs to be done. Going into the Super Smash with only one win in the Ford Trophy will be concerning however, it will provide a challenge for their players to step up.
Auckland Aces
The 2023/24 champions have come into the Super Smash sitting on top of the Ford Trophy ladder and have been bolstered with some new talent.
Having lost Robbie O’Donnell to Northern, Auckland have been able to pick up Bevon Jacobs from Canterbury and all-rounder Simon Keene will likely make his T20 debut sometime throughout the season.
Michael Sclanders has led the way in the Ford Trophy runs and is another player who has the potential to debut this season whilst Will O’Donnell sits in second place for the Aces runs tally in the one-day competition.
The return of spinner Adi Ashok this summer from injury likely means that there is a potential for less game time for the ever-reliable Louis Delport.
Finn Allen and Lockie Ferguson could both be classed as big losses for the Aces for the Super Smash season, having not accepted a New Zealand central contract and are now featuring in the BBL for the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder respectively.
The Aces have been able to secure Martin Guptill back and Danru Ferns will be looking to replicate last season’s efforts with the ball.
With Mark Chapman likely only playing a few games this season periodically due to Blackcaps commitments it will mean the likes of Sid Dixit, who featured for New Zealand in the Hong Kong Sixes get some game time.
Captain Sean Solia will lead the all-round side of the team and be supported by Jock McKenzie in this area of the game.
For the Aces to look for a second straight title it will need the likes of Solia and O’Donnell to put on big performancesand assistance from Jacobs and Chapman when they’re not on international duty will be important.
Central Stags
The Stags often look like one of the strong teams on paper, particularly with the firepower that they have with the bat, however, it hasn’t led them to as much success in recent years as they would like.
Captain Tom Bruce will want to lead from the front, likely slotting into his regular spot of number four after finding himself opening for a few games last season. Clinical strikers Dane Cleaver and Josh Clarkson will both be looking for big summers as well with the bat.
After struggling to find some solid openers last season, it seems that Jack Boyle and Curtis Heaphy could be tasked with that job having opened in both the Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy together.
Strike bowler Blair Tickner will look to lead the bowling attack as he pushes for a path back into the national setup. Brett Randell who has recovered from an injury that kept him out of the majority of last summer will be looking to return to form as well.
Spinners Ajaz Patel and Jayden Lennox are both important to the bowling department through the middle overs of the match and have been assisted by Bruce over the past few seasons as well.
All-rounders Will Clark and Clarkson are both vital with the bat and ball. There is an expectation for Clark to get more game time this season having shown his worth so far this summer.
Having not won the title since the 2018/19 season, it will be up to the firepower of the Stags to find the boundary, even if they aren’t playing at Pukekura Park this season. For the bowlers, it will be the likes of Tickner and Lennox that need to put in strong performances to get the victories.
Wellington Firebirds
The Firebirds come into the Super Smash with a weak performance for their standards in both competitions so far placingfourth in the Plunket Shield and third in the Ford Trophy.
Nick Kelly has been on fire so far this summer averaging 78 in the Plunket Shield, however, no one has backed up any of his batting performances. You could hope the Ford Trophy was better however, no one averages over 27 excluding Tim Robinson who scored 72* in one inning.
In the bowling department, Peter Younghusband is the top wicket-taker in both formats currently with 15 in the red ball and 11 in the one-dayers. Eight of his red ball wickets came in one innings which became the 18th-best bowling performance for Wellington (Joint second on wickets).
It doesn’t help Wellington’s case they won’t get Devon Conway sporadically throughout the comp being away at the SA20 and Ben Sears having a back injury.
Not winning the comp since 20-21 will serve as a reminder to the Wellington team to fight hard even after a weak start to the domestic season.
Canterbury Kings
The Kings haven’t won the Super Smash since the first iteration of the comp back in 2005-06. However, they came agonizingly close last time around being defeated by a washout at Eden Park vs the Aces.
The main loss in their Super Smash side will be without Bevon Jacobs who moved back to Auckland and has since been picked up by the Mumbai Indians in the IPL Auction along with being recently selected for the Blackcaps T20i’s vs Sri Lanka.
Zak Foulkes will be crucial for the side after leaving the Blackcaps camp, while Tom Latham and Will O’Rourke may play vs the Volts and for the rest of the competition after the Sri Lanka ODI series.
Mitch Hay, Matt Henry and Daryl Mitchell will be away for the start of the comp being with the Blackcaps for both the T20 and ODI series, they will take a crucial role when returning from international duty.
Henry Shipley looks like he will be available for the whole of the Super Smash after returning from injury via the NZ XI squad in warm-up matches vs Sri Lanka.
Rhys Mariu will look to make his T20 debut after a fine start in the Plunket Shield being the man in form currently in NZ Domestic cricket. Jesse Frew also looks poised to debut with Mitch Hay out with the Blackcaps.
The Kings are currently on the correct path, it remains to be seen if coach Peter Fulton can finally take them to their second-ever T20 title.
Otago Volts
Otago’s drought of a trophy may just never end! A weak start to the season being placed fourth and sixth respectively inthe Ford Trophy and Plunket Shield, new coach Ash Noffke hasn’t had the ideal start wanted by the association.
Clean striker Hamish Rutherford retired at the end of the last Super Smash with Ollie White moving back up to Tauranga making himself available for Northern Districts.
It is thought Jamal Todd will enter into the side alongside Dale Phillips who was dropped at the back end of last season. Llew Johnson may also feature much more prominently scoring around 80 in a warm-up match last Thursday at the University of Otago Oval.
New signing Zac Cumming most likely won’t play in the Super Smash with Lockrose leading the line as the spin option alongside Dean Foxcroft having the ability to bowl throughout the middle overs.
Without being able to rely so much on Jacob Duffy this season, the emergence of Andrew Hazeldine and Matt Bacon has come at a good time for the Otago bowling attack. It is imagined Georgeson and Gibson will also be in this attack with the front-line pace attack holding much more responsibility with the likes of Toby Hart, Thomas O’Connor and Mason Clarke being led as backup.
In wrap-up the Volts need to improve on last season, this looks much more manageable with star Glenn Phillips and Jacob Duffy coming back for the last 5 games of the regular season. A push for the playoffs will need to be made to show any progress from Noffke this season.
Women’s:
Northern Brave
2023 looked like it may have been the year of the Northern Brave, but they tripped up in the Elimination Final at home to the Central Hinds. Despite this, they still had their best season ever as they made the finals for the first time in their history.
The core squad has been retained from last summer and will be bolstered by the availability of former White Fern Bernadine Bezuidenhout, however are likely to lose Tash Wakelin and Eve Wolland to the Under-19 Women’s World Cup later this summer.
Australian Amanda-Jade Wellington returns to the Super Smash, having featured in the 2022/23 season for Northern and also playing a few seasons back for the Sparks.
Yaz Kareem has had a great start to the season with the bat and is the seventh top run scorer in the HBJ Shield with 185 runs. Having yet to make her T20 debut, that will be an important milestone for her to make this summer.
The batters will be led by the experience of Caitlin Gurrey and captain Jess Watkin whilst all-rounder Nensi Patel is always an important cog in the lineup. Former Auckland Heart Skye Bowden has joined Northern this season and a potential debut will loom at some point.
Pacer Marama Downes will likely lead the bowling attack alongside Jesse Prasad and the experienced Shriya Naidu. Downes had a superb season last year taking the third most wickets, finishing with 16 to her name.
For Northern to improve on last season's result it will likely need the likes of Gurrey, Patel, Watkin, and Downes to make regular contributions and the value that Jade Wellington brings will complement the side nicely.
Auckland Hearts
Auckland had a disappointing 2023/24 by their standards, finishing sixth on the table and ten points from making the top three.
Maddy Green’s 283 runs across the season was the only highlight for them and alongside Prue Catton, they were the only players to score over 50 runs in an innings at all.
With the return of their core squad and White Ferns availability, the Hearts will be looking to make use of their experience and push to perform this season.
The emergence of Bree Illing and Josie Penfold this season has shown that there is good depth coming through the side and with the experience of Amy Hucker, and Molly Penfold, the Hearts pace bowling attack looks strong.
Lauren Down returns back into the side having taken last season off due to the birth of her first child and will be an important player for the Hearts. The Hearts have however lost Anna Browning and Skye Bowden to Otago and Northernrespectively.
Saachi Shahri will open for the Hearts, however, it is unclear who her opening partner will be with Izzy Gaze’s form at the top not being much of note last summer.
For the Hearts to improve on last season’s performance it will require the likes of Green, Brooke Halliday, and Down to show their dominance whilst the more inexperienced players will want to put their mark on the competition as well.
Central Hinds
2023 was nearly the year that the Hinds picked up their second title only to lose to the Wellington Blaze in a final ball thriller at Eden Park.
English international Hollie Armitage was crucial at the top of the order last year and has been signed for this summer as well.
The loss of keeper and regular captain to paternity duties has made way for Kate Gaging to be the wicket-keeper andMikaela Greig will lead the side as captain.
Hannah Rowe, Rosemary Mair, and Claudia Green will lead the pace bowling department whilst Flora Devonshire and Ocean Bartlett both have performed well for the Hinds to start the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield season.
Youngster Emma McLeod has the potential to earn more game time at the top of the order having played just one match last summer.
For the Hinds to carry on the winning momentum from last season coupled with their current second place in the HBJ Shield, it could well be the year that things go their way. Rowe will be a particularly crucial player with her all-roundtalent having often taken the Hinds to victories over the past few seasons.
Wellington Blaze
Wellington has always been regarded as the strongest side in recent seasons having won five titles in the last seven seasons.
Contracted White Ferns Sophie Devine, Amelia Kerr, and Jess Kerr will all be important parts of Wellington’s side this season, however, it is the depth that the side has that has brought them major success.
Spinner Xara Jetly and spinning all-rounder Leigh Kasperek have been vital for the Blaze over the past few years and in the last few seasons Nicole Baird has been able to chip in when needed.
The batting department will once again be led by Rebecca Burns and wicket-keeper Jess McFadyen can be expected to slot into the lineup where she’s needed. Watch out for youngster Hannah Francis who has shown her value with both bat and ball in the first few HBJ Shield rounds.
When she returns from injury, Georgia Plimmer will add some value to the lineup and this will likely result in McFadyen slipping down the order to accommodate.
All Wellington needs to do is what they’ve been doing the past few seasons if they want to bring up a ninth Super Smash title.
Canterbury Magicians
Canterbury had an extremely disappointing season by their standards last summer and ended up finishing in fifth place, ahead of Auckland on net run rate.
They’ve been able to bring back Australian Maddie Penna who took figures of 3/4 against Wellington last season.
Indian all-rounder, Shika Pandey has also signed with the Magicians and will bring her international experience along with her time playing in the WBBL, WPL, India’s domestic competition, and the WCPL.
Domestic legends Frankie Mackay, Kate Anderson and Lea Tahuhu (when fit) will be crucial to Canterbury’s hopes of pushing their way into the top three and getting their hands back on the title, which they last won in the 2022/23 season.
The pace bowling counterparts of Gabby Sullivan and Missy Banks have shown that their performances with the ball can be match-winning but Canterbury will be looking for them to hunt for poles early.
Spinner Sarah Asmussen has taken over 110 wickets across both limited-overs formats for Canterbury and usually leads the spin attack alongside Mackay.
The return of all-rounder Kate Ebrahim could be vital to the Magicians hopes of getting some wins as she currently sits as the third top run scorer in the HBJ Shield.
Canterbury will rely on their senior players to step up this season if they want to push their way back into the top three and grab a second title in three years.
Otago Sparks
Otago have shown great dominance to start the season in the fifty-over competition taking the maximum 30 points from the first six games as they look to make their way to a second title in as many years.
Having not made the T20 final since their loss to Wellington in the 2021/22 season, they will be looking for a continued strong performance if they want to be able to win their first title since the 2016/17 season.
Following her recent international debut, Bella James will be looking to continue her form with the bat alongside fellow batters Suzie Bates, Caitlin Blakely, and Felicity Robertson.
It has however been the bowling department where the Sparks have shown their skills with all the bowlers putting in the good spells this season.
Spinners Eden Carson and Anna Browning have 23 wickets between them in the HBJ Shield whilst it will once again beEmma Black and Hayley Jensen leading the pace bowling attack, who have 15 wickets between them.
For the Sparks to carry on their winning formula then all they need to do is carry on their momentum from the fifty-over format and transform that into the shorter form.
It will be key that the likes of James and Bates get them off to good starts with the bat whilst the work of Carson and Black with the ball will be of great assistance for the Sparks’ chances.
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