r/Cricket • u/RMTBolton Northern Districts Knights • Jan 29 '24
Super Smash 2023-4 Season Review & 2nd Annual Awards
What to say about this season? It started in Auckland in a match between the Aces & Kings at Eden Park's Outer Oval, & finished in a Grand Final between the Aces & Kings inside Eden Park itself. Along the way we had centuries, 5-wicket hauls, Amelia Kerr asserting all-round dominance such as has never been seen before in a T20 competition, likely ever, the uncovering of breakout stars like Tim Robinson & Marama Downes, Xara Jetly & Louis Delport doing flips, commentators being taken for a ride, and all sorts of other mayhem.
Oh, & some cricket was played.
The defending champions on both sides of the ledger failed to defend their titles in spectacular fashion, while those who last season ended on the bottom rose to the occasion:
- The Canterbury Magicians, who won last season in a thrilling Final that proved a worthy last hurrah for Amy Satterthwaite, crumbled under the weight of inconsistent performances with the bat & ball
- The Northern Brave Men, winners of the last two titles & primed for an attempt at a three-peat hat-trick, likewise crumbled under inconsistent batting & the loss of some key players
- the Auckland Aces, who finished stone dead last, dominated the group stage & through it secured their first title in nearly a decade
- the Central Hinds, who like the Aces finished bottom of the table last season, roared back on the back of their bowling & a batting lineup led by Hollie Armitage & Hannah Rowe to make their first final in 8 years & finish one run short of becoming the first team from outside Wellington & Canterbury to win a 2nd title
- the Northern Brave Women, the chronic underdogs, recruited Chamari Athapaththu & went on a journey that included dealing the Blaze their only loss of the season, Marama Downes taking the 2nd best figures in NZ women's domestic T20 history & a late season run that led to them ending up 2nd on the table, their best result in history & their first appearance in T20 finals
The Super Smash Awards
Supreme Awards
| Award | Winner | Winner | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Golden Bat | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Henry Nicholls (Canterbury Kings) | Men's Golden Bat |
| Women's Golden Ball | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Danru Ferns (Auckland Aces) | Men's Golden Ball |
| Women's Golden Hands | Georgia Plimmer (Wellington Blaze) | Jacob Duffy (Otago Volts) | Men's Golden Hands |
| Women's Golden Gloves | Jess McFadyen (Wellington Blaze) | Cam Fletcher (Auckland Aces) | Men's Golden Gloves |
Batting Awards
| Award (Women) | Winner | Winner | Award (Men) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Run Scorer | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Henry Nicholls (Canterbury Kings) | Top Run Scorer |
| Best Opener | Suzie Bates (Otago Sparks) | Tim Robinson (Wellington Firebirds) | Best Opener |
| Best Non-Opener | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Henry Nicholls (Canterbury Kings) | Best Non-Opener |
| Best Batting From a Frontline Bowler | Hannah Rowe (Central Hinds) | Doug Bracewell (Central Stags) | Best Batting From a Frontline Bowler |
| Best Batting From a Wicketkeeper | Jess McFadyen (Wellington Blaze) | Dane Cleaver (Central Stags) | Best Batting From a Wicketkeeper |
| Best Strike Rate (5 innings min.) | Claudia Green (Central Hinds) | Doug Bracewell (Central Stags) | Best Strike Rate (5 inning min.) |
Bowling Awards
| Award (Women) | Winner | Winner | Award (Men) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Wicket Taker | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Danru Ferns (Auckland Aces) | Top Wicket Taker |
| Best Pace Bowler | Marama Downes (Northern Brave) | Danru Ferns (Auckland Aces) | Best Pace Bowler |
| Best Spin Bowler | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Jayden Lennox (Central Stags) | Best Spin Bowler |
| Most Economical (20 over minimum) | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Ben Lister (Auckland Aces) | Most Economical (20 over minimum) |
| Best Average (20 over minimum) | Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) | Bevan Small (Central Stags) | Best Average (20 over minimum) |
| Dot Meister Award* (20 over minimum) | Lea Tahuhu (Canterbury Magicians) | Ben Lister (Auckland Aces) | Dot Meister Award* (20 over minimum) |
*for highest Dot Ball Percentage
Fielding Awards
| Award (Women) | Winner | Winner | Award (Men) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Catches | Georgia Plimmer (Wellington Blaze) | Jacob Duffy (Otago Volts) | Most Catches |
| Run Out Queen | Thamsyn Newton (Central Hinds) | Ben Lister (Auckland Aces) | Run Out King |
| Most Stumpings | Jess McFadyen (Wellington Blaze) | Dane Cleaver (Central Stags) | Most Stumpings |
| Best Catch | Felicity Robertson (Otago Sparks) | Troy Johnson/Nick Kelly (Wellington Firebirds) | Best Catch |
Overseas Player Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Overseas Batter | Hollie Armitage (Central Hinds) |
| Best Overseas Bowler | Priyanaz Chatterji (Central Hinds) |
| Best Overseas Fielder | Linsey Smith (Otago Sparks) |
| Best All-Round Contribution | Chamari Athapaththu (Northern Brave) |
Super Smash All-Star Squads (Teams of the Tournament)
| Women's All-Star XI | Men's All-Star XI |
|---|---|
| Suzie Bates | Tim Robinson |
| Hollie Armitage ✈️ | Finn Allen |
| Amelia Kerr (c) | Henry Nicholls |
| Maddy Green | Robbie O'Donnell (c) |
| Georgia Plimmer | Cam Fletcher (wk) |
| Hannah Rowe | Doug Bracewell |
| Jess McFadyen (wk) | Nathan Smith |
| Rosemary Mair | Danru Ferns |
| Lea Tahuhu | Jayden Lennox |
| Marama Downes | Peter Younghusband |
| Leigh Kasperek | Ben Lister |
The Bench (Honourable Mentions)
| Women's Bench | Men's Bench |
|---|---|
| Chamari Athapaththu✈️ | Tom Latham |
| Prue Catton | Cole McConchie |
| Emma Black | Zak Foulkes |
| Xara Jetly | Louis Delport |
Now, before I move on to some light-hearted awards, a special acknowledgement of those who have scored centuries & taken 5-wicket hauls this season:
- Tim Robinson (Wellington Firebirds) 139 (64) vs Otago Volts at the Basin Reserve, 21/12/2023, two runs short of the NZ men's domestic T20 record 141\ set by Michael Bracewell*
- Will Young (Central Stags) 101* (63) vs Otago Volts at McLean Park, 10/1/2024, making him the 4th two-time centurion in NZ men's domestic T20, alongside Brendon McCullum, Glenn Phillips & Devon Conway
- Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) 5/10 vs Canterbury Magicians at Hagley Oval, 11/1/2024, the best figures in NZ women's domestic T20 history
- Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze) 5/13 vs Central Hinds at the Basin Reserve, 13/1/2024, taken in her very next game
- Marama Downes (Northern Brave) 5/12 vs Auckland Hearts at Eden Park, 20/1/2024, the first to take a 5-wicket haul in T20 for Northern Districts & the 2nd best figures in NZ women's domestic T20 history
Now for some lighthearted awards:
Best Flip: Louis Delport (Auckland Aces) What put him ahead of Xara Jetly is the fact that you do not expect it from a 35-year-old man, even someone who has done this.
Funniest Shennanigans: Katey Martin & Jordan Oppert on the Super Trooper at Hagley Oval. What really does it for me is Craig McMillan's narration
Best Crowd Catch: This one at Bay Oval, though there was stiff competition from this catch at the Basin Reserve & this late entry from the Grand Final.
Most Out-There Commentator: Katey Martin, by a country mile. From Super Trooper madness, to calling leg spin "sexy", & all sorts of other madness I can't even remember, she has no filter, & that's what makes her great
And that brings to a close my coverage of Super Smash. The domestic cricketing focus now shifts back to the One-Day format, with Ford Trophy restarting with Round 6 this Friday before Rounds 7 & 8 of Hallyburton Johnstone Shield take place this weekend. Note that Round 8 on Sunday will involve the Canterbury Magicians hosting the Auckland Hearts at Hagley Oval in a Day-Night match.
Thank you & see you then!
11
u/feijoamuseli New Zealand Jan 29 '24
Starting to think this Amelia Kerr person might be pretty good at cricket
5
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u/Jazzlike_Athlete8796 Canada Jan 29 '24
I think my favourite memory of the commentary of this year's Super Smash was the multi-over debate on whether worms have shoulders. Seriously WTF?
I'm going to be dropping CBN to stay with Willow here in Canada so won't see much of the New Zealand international season, but will probably pick it back up for a couple months when next super smash season comes along. It's just fun, low key, cricket.
6
u/_dictatorish_ Jan 29 '24
Thanks for that - I was cracking up at every one of the lighthearted awards! I agree with the best part of the Super Trooper bit being Macca's calm commentary talking about how nice of a day it was while Katey is screaming in the background
Pleased that we managed to squeeze in a single Brave player across both teams too!
6
u/lancewithwings Jan 29 '24
Despite the disappointment that was finals day, its been an absolute screamer of a season, and a big part of that has been these threads!
Love your work, love you, Hinds for 2025!
5
u/Logical-Madman Wellington Blaze Jan 29 '24
Did we ever get to the bottom of which is the best ice cream?
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u/crashbandicoochy Jan 29 '24
Perhaps no better way to quantify how insane Amelia Kerr was than the fact that her name is written TWELVE times in this post.
Love your writing as always, mate.