One
Brad “Grey Power” Hodge! The 39-year-old Super pro doesn’t have a hit all week, then comes out and smashes it with unbridled aggression all round Eden Park for two Firebirds wins. It’s not just opposition bowlers who raise their eyebrows watching the ball soar into the stand, over and over. It’s other batsmen. They’re trying to figure out how the ol’ fox does it whilst barely moving! Hodge makes smashing sixes against the likes of Adam Milne and Ben Small look simple — and he even threw in a paddle sweep for six to show Colin Munro a thing or two. Boooom!
Two
Shot of the week though has to be that Colin Munro switch-hit for six earlier in the same game. Unlike Hodge, Munro dances into his massive hits and sent this one bulleting over the longest side of the ground into Eden Park’s eastern stand. All up “Manu” hit six sixes in his exciting 52 off 24 balls and ladled the pressure on the Firebirds every moment he re-mained at the crease.
Three
Last over. Last ball. Heart-stoppping tension for all concerned. Sunday’s nailbiting battle of the southern borders at Hagley Oval smashed a few records with the number of people following it on our livescoring. Three runs and the Kings would have taken the win and kept the SBS Bank Otago Volts without one. Dirk Nannes hadn’t been firing at the death for his team all comp — until now. He got the key wicket of half-centurion Henry Nicholls with the penultimate ball, then put enough pressure on Cameron Fletcher to have him run out off the last ball: a one run win to the Volts. Take a bow, Dirk Nannes.
Four
Big Luke Fletcher’s even bigger yorkers: they just keep coming. Not since Chris Pringle have we seen the like of it, especially at the death. Does he have some orange zinc stashed somewhere in his kit bag?
Five
Firebirds fever continues because it was a huge weekend all-round from the ’Birds. Ste-phen Murdoch’s running, sliding-into-first-base catch to remove Ben Smith was class, but his skipper James Franklin decided to match that athleticism with a top drawer running catch of his own, hurtling backwards to pick up the much-wanted wicket of Jamie How —without even a wobble in the balance, let alone a tumble. Nice.
Six
Spinners everywhere went jelly-knee’ed as young, spare SKYCITY Northern Knights up-and-comer Mitchell Santner tricked Mondiale Auckland Aces captain Rob Nicol into a sweet little caught and bowled. Besides being the ‘turning point’ in the Aces’ unsuccessful chase, there’s just nothing like those spinner versus spinner grins afterwards.
Seven
Teams winning it in the second innings. Every game this week was a massive contest. With no time to lose, all sides are fighting it out to be in those top four spots come Finals time.
Eight
Rob Nicol’s smooth pick-up for six off quick Ben Laughlin at Eden Park. Does timing get better than that?
Nine
Did anyone else lose count of all the sixes this week? Our picks — George Worker set the pace in Dunedin when he smashed one out of University Oval over square leg, all the more impressive as the pitch was on the far side of the block from the fence he cleared. Colin de Grandhomme got those woodchopper’s arms swinging against Santner at Eden Park, first straight and then over cover for a fast 25. Brent Arnel was tearing his hair out after Jamie How got away with two big top edges for full marks, but vintage How was really to be seen against Grant Elliott when he started smashing the good-length ball high into the stands. Ouch. Dean Brownlie gave the Aces similar treatment to raise his 50; Firebirds opener Matt Taylor cleanly blasting out a six off de Grandhomme was a goodie; and Daryl Mitchell neatly smashing Tarun Nethula into the sightscreen was a symphony of footwork and confidence. As for anything by Hodge and Munro — gold.
Ten
Bolt versus Boult. Colin de Grandhomme rocketing the ball from the outfield, straight into the bails to run out Knight Jono Boult — like a thunderbolt. Yes, bad pun. Great arm though.
What the coaches thought - #gpcoachchat video
Big week for SBS Bank Otago Volts coach Dmitri Mascarenhas — after the Volts’ uncharacteristi-cally slow start in this Georgie Pie Super Smash, he makes his #GPCoachChat debut following the exciting last-ball finish against the Kings at Hagley Oval. A shoutout from us to Canterbury Cricket CEO Lee Germon for conducting this interview with Dmitri on our behalf — what great sports they are in Christchurch.
SKYCITY Northern Knights coach Jimmy Pamment is well known for being a tough taskmaster when it comes to his fielding skills and drills, so he was well pleased to see his team claw back their Border Wars Sunday afternoon clash with the Aces courtesy of a strong fielding and bowling performance. Check out what he had to say about his captain Daniel Flynn, too.
The Wellington Firebirds have been, well, on fire lately. They continued their mid-comp charge up the table by demolishing the Devon Hotel Central Stags by eight wickets at Eden Park for the second of their two weekend wins. Here's coach Jamie Siddons on what’s going right for his players:
The weather may have got us all on Saturday, but the first washout of the season did give us the chance to catch up with Devon Hotel Central Stags coach Heinrich Malan. Two days earlier, Hein-rich had picked up his first win in Dunedin against the Volts: he talks through what the Stags need to do from here.
Jamie Siddons revealed that, prior to the blazing knock that won their Friday night game against Aces, Brad Hodge hadn’t had a hit all week! “Unbelievable”, said coach Siddons after their mighty eight-wicket win.
The epic ‘four-day weekend’ of Georgie Pie Super Smash Twenty20 across the country began in Christchurch where another big home crowd swelled the banks and turned them a gorgeous shade of purple. But Pink trumped Purple in this top of the table clash. As Knights coach Jimmy Pamment noted, it was great entertainment to the last, with impressive hitting which he hoped consoled local fans.
Smashing cricket
Two games stood out for enthralling entertainment. At Hagley Oval, purple hearts were broken when the SBS Bank Otago Volts got up to snatch their last-ball win, by a single run. Henry Nicholls was caught on the second to last ball of the nailbiter, leaving young keeper-batsman Cameron Fletcher with the job of finding three runs off the last ball to win it.
With Volts pro Dirk Nannes zeroing in with the ball, he had no choice but to find his inner Jamaican sprinter and make a dash for glory — but was run out by the deadly arm of Aaron Redmond rocketing it into Derek de Boorder at the stumps. What a match! In Auckland, of the three games completed, the Firebirds nailed two of them. Brad Hodge went ballistic with the bat in both of them. Our pick? Hard call, because they were both thoroughly entertaining, with loads of sixes.
But let’s flip a coin and go for this one — keep your eye out in these video highlights for the amazing switch-hit for six from Ace Colin Munro.
Chart Toppers
Top run-scorers
Openers have been making their mark. This week Knights skipper Daniel Flynn moves back to top of the pops with his second half-century in this season’s comp.
| M | I | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | |
| Daniel Flynn (Knights) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 198 | 86 | 33.00 | 0 | 2 |
| Ryan ten Doeschate (Volts) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 181 | 63 | 30.16 | 0 | 1 |
| Martin Guptill (Aces) | 5 | 5 | 2 | 176 | 84* | 58.66 | 0 | 2 |
| Dean Brownlie (Knights) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 163 | 57 | 27.16 | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Bracewell (Volts) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 157 | 40 | 26.16 | 0 | 0 |
Full Georgie Pie Super Smash batting stats
Top wicket-takers
Canterbury King Andy Ellis holds firm with numero uno position, but the challengers are edging up.
| Balls | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BB | Ave | 4WIs | 5WIs | SR | Econ | |
| Andy Ellis (Kings) | 108 | 0 | 114 | 12 | 5-14 | 9.50 | 1 | 1 | 9.00 | 6.33 |
| Ben Laughlin (Knights) | 138 | 0 | 175 | 8 | 2-31 | 21.87 | 0 | 0 | 17.25 | 7.60 |
| Anton Devcich (Knights) | 63 | 0 | 97 | 7 | 4-19 | 13.85 | 1 | 0 | 9.00 | 9.23 |
| Mitchell McClenaghan (Aces) | 90 | 1 | 111 | 7 | 3-29 | 15.85 | 0 | 0 | 12.85 | 7.40 |
| Luke Fletcher (Firebirds) | 120 | 1 | 144 | 7 | 3-19 | 20.57 | 0 | 0 | 17.14 | 7.20 |
Full Georgie Pie Super Smash bowling stats
Safest Hands
Kings wicketkeeper Cameron Fletcher gets one over the outfielders, while the Firebirds have had a field day.
| Matches | Catches | Stumpings | |
| Cameron Fletcher (Kings) | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Stephen Murdoch (Firebirds) | 5 | 5 | |
| Michael Pollard (Firebirds) | 5 | 5 | |
| Logan van Beek | 5 | 5 | |
| Dean Brownlie (Knights) | 6 | 5 |
Full Georgie Pie Super Smash fielding stats
Points table
The big movers this past week were the Knights, who regained top spot, then opened up a two-game lead after their wins over the Kings and the Aces; and, the Wellington Firebirds, who shot up from fourth to second with their two convincing victories. For the Stags and the Volts meanwhile, there was relief in breaking their respective ducks with first wins in the competition. For the Aces and Kings, momentum was lost after a strong start in the earlier rounds.
| Played | Won | Lost | Aban. | Points | Net Run Rate | |
| SKYCITY Northern Knights | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 0.626 |
| Wellington Firebirds | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0.110 |
| Canterbury Kings | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 0.169 | |
| Mondiale Auckland Aces | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1.083 |
| Devon Hotel Central Stags | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | -0.744 |
| SBS Bank Otago Volts | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -1.094 |
Hot stats
Keep your eye on these guys who have T20 milestones to smash in Week Four.
Mondiale Auckland Aces
Anaru Kitchen 1000 runs - currently on 970 runs for the Aces
Rob Nicol 50 wickets - currently on 46 career wickets
SKYCITY Northern Knights
Brad Wilson 1000 runs - currently on 990 career runs for the Knights
SBS Bank Otago Volts
Nick Beard 50 wickets - currently on 44 wickets for the Volts
Nick Beard 50 matches - currently on 49 matches for the Volts
Nathan McCullum 50 wickets - currently on 49 wickets for the Volts
Ryan ten Doeschate 1000 runs - currently on 988 career runs for the Volts
Wellington Firebirds
Grant Elliott 1000 runs - currently on 998 career runs
Luke Fletcher 50 wickets - currently on 47 career wickets
Devon Hotel Central Stags
Kieran Noema-Barnett 1000 runs - currently on 952 career runs
Canterbury Kings
Brendon Diamanti 50 matches - currently on 49 career matches
Stats congrats
Well played to these men last week.
Mondiale Auckland Aces
Kyle Mills 50 wickets for the Aces
Donovan Grobbelaar - career best score: 38*
SKYCITY Northern Knights
Dean Brownlie - career best score at the Knights: 57
Travis Birt - 100 career matches
Anton Devcich/Daniel Flynn - new first wicket partnership record for Knights v Kings. Also first wicket record for all teams v Kings (previous best was 115 by Luke Wright/Jesse Ryder for Wellington Firebirds)
Scott Kuggeleijn - career best bowling: 3-30
Wellington Firebirds
Brent Arnel - 50 career wickets
Stephen Murdoch - career best score: 61*
James Franklin - career best Bowling for Firebirds: 2-9
Matthew Taylor - career best score: 31
Devon Hotel Central Stags
Adam Milne - career best bowling: 3-30
Canterbury Kings
Henry Nicholls - career best score: 58
Ronnie Hira - career best score: 44
Neil Broom/Ronnie Hira - new first wicket partnership record for Kings v Knights (previous best was 64 by George Worker/Rob Nicol)
SBS Bank Otago Volts
Nick Beard - 50 matches for the Volts
Nathan McCullum - 50 wickets for the Volts Dirk Nannes 250 career wickets
Up next
We’re in for a capital time as the Georgie Pie Super Smash festival moves to Wellington Stadium from this Friday night. Before that, University Oval in Dunedin hosts its second game on Thursday afternoon as the Volts look to double their win tally. All games are live on Radio Sport, and all the Wellington Stadium games are also live on SKY Sport.
But there’s nothing like being there for the big hits! One ticket buys you entry to all-day entertainment at a doubleheader, prices are great value and super family-friendly, and there’s heaps to do for the kids — so pop in anytime.
Thursday Nov 20 SBS Bank Otago Volts v Canterbury Kings
Georgie Pie Super Smash returns to Dunedin’s University Oval for an all-South Island shootout. The Volts will need to be on their toes after beating the Kings by one run last week: the Kings men want revenge! From 4pm.
Social Media hashtags #GPSuperSmash, #OVvCK
Tickets
Friday Nov 21 Wellington Firebirds v Mondiale Auckland Aces
A showcase duel under lights as the Aces again take on the recharged Firebirds — will home ad-vantage see the Firebirds continue their storming form, or can the Aces stamp their mark back on this competition? Find out who’s the slickest city side of them all, from 7.10pm
Social Media hashtags #GPSuperSmash, #WFvAA
Tickets
Saturday Nov 22 Wellington Firebirds v Canterbury Kings
Super Saturday starts with another great match-up at 3.40pm. The Kings are hungry to resume their reign after a mid-comp wobble, while the Firebirds will be out to back up from the night before in a game with plenty of intrigue for the state of the points table — this should be a humdinger.
Social Media hashtags #GPSuperSmash, #WFvCK
Tickets
Devon Hotel Central Stags v Mondiale Auckland Aces
Part two of Saturday’s doubleheader is a massive game for the Stags as they look to play their way back into the competition for a shot at a top-four berth for finals time. Likewise, the Aces are on a mission to gather some momentum to ensure their campaign stays on track. Things are getting ruthless! Under lights from 7pm.
Social Media hashtags #GPSuperSmash, #CSvAA
Tickets
Sunday Nov 23 Wellington Firebirds v Devon Hotel Central Stags
The Border Wars are back! The Firebirds bowl up for their third game in quick succession at home, looking to make use of a supportive crowd. Should their plans stick, they’ll be the big movers and shakers on the charts this weekend. If you’re a Firebirds fan, Pyro wants to see you here from 3.50pm.
Social Media hashtags #GPSuperSmash, #WFvCS
Tickets
Sunday Nov 23 SBS Bank Otago Volts v SKYCITY Northern Knights
The finale of our Wellington Stadium showcase weekend sees a big clash between two teams that absolutely detest losing to each other. These two units have owned the national title over the past three years, but their fortunes couldn’t have been more different this season — the Knights on top, the Volts cellar-dwellers. Will this be the game where the Volts get one over the Pink brigade? Under lights from 7pm.
Social Media hashtags #GPSuperSmash, #OVvNK
Tickets
One to watch
Tallish, lean and a crisp striker of the ball, specialist batsman Stephen Murdoch has been around a good few seasons. The 31-year-old debuted for the Knights back in 2008, before moving to the Firebirds where he would gain more opportunities and make his first-class debut in 2010. Something of a late bloomer in the shortest format, it wasn’t until 2012 that he then forced his way into the Firebirds’ Twenty20 side.
This season, he’s proving himself a solid investment. His unbeaten 61 from just 35 balls last weekend helped seal an emphatic eight-wicket win for the Firebirds over the Stags: he was part of two 50-run stands in the same innings, something the resurgent Firebirds hadn’t achieved for some time. For Murdoch, it’s been the fruit of much soul-searching and technical reinvention as a batsman over the past two years. He’s worked closely under the tutelage of Firebirds coach Jamie Siddons, particularly over the most recent off-season as he has looked to take himself beyond classy drives and fancy cut shots and into the league of batsmen who regularly clear the rope.
His Plunket Shield four-day form has been hot, too — having scorched to an un-beaten 155 just before the Georgie Pie Super Smash season started, guiding the Firebirds to a first round win over Canterbury. Now he’s keen to keep racking up the runs at Wellington Stadium in a big home weekend for the Firebirds. Meet Stephen and check out his guilty pleasure here, it involves … flavoured milk. We’ve all got our vices, right?
Get on it
Stay up with the play with Georgie Pie Super Smash social media - let us know where you're watching from and what you reckon:
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Are You Winning?
We’re looking for the best dressed supporters in Dunedin this Thursday and every day in Wellington. Gear up and you’re in for some great prizes! The Canterbury Kings are running some fantastic promotions around the Georgie Pie Super Smash at Hagley Oval, check out their Facebook page for details. Plus there’s face painting, stilt walkers, Kids Zone at all games, and Georgie Pie banners and vouchers for Georgie Pie Super Smash fans. Big congratulations to lucky Eden Park spectator Dave who scored himself $1000 on Fri-day night by finding this cheque on the field while blindfolded in the Specsavers challenge. Good work!
#GPSuperSmash photo of the week
Full stretch: former New Zealand under-19s representative Tim Seifert is in his first season as a SKYCITY Northern Knight and the young wicketkeeper isn’t letting this opportunity slip by. Perfectly setting off the pink, the North Stand’s battleship grey in the background was closed as the crowd enjoyed the game from the sunny South Stand. Photo: Andrew Cornaga, www.photosport.co.nz
