Big scores, tight finishes, and a tie

There's been no shortage of drama and suspense in the first fortnight of the Super Smash, with records toppled, last-ball nailbiters and even a tied game with a difference.

Back-to-back wins have seen Maddy Green's Auckland Hearts scramble up the ladder in a hurry, from the second-to-last into the top three after a last-ball victory over the Sparks at their Auckland HQ this evening.

The Hearts were defending a total of 123/6 at Kennards with Brooke Halliday taking the ball for the last over.

The experienced WHITE FERNS pace allrounder kept her cool and got Emma Black stumped off the last ball, for the tightest of wins - propelling the Hearts to 10 points, now perching in a bunch just behind frontrunners and defending champion, the Wellington Blaze.

The women's points to date:

• Blaze (4 games) 14
• Sparks (4 games)10
• Hearts (4 games)10
• Hinds (4 games)10
• Brave (3 games) 6
• Magicians (3 games) 1

Tomorrow (Wednesday 7 January), the Central Hinds have a chance to catch the Blaze as they duel at the Cello Basin Reserve from 12.40pm.

The Central and Wellington teams all become the first to reach the halfway point of their campaigns in this fifth round doubleheader - with both the female teams in a better position than their male counterparts.

The Hinds have been the surprise package of the early stages of the women's Super Smash, recovering from two losses to thump the Canterbury Magicians home and away once the new-look top order fired - the latter match, in Nelson on the weekend, producing all-time record totals for both the Hinds and the Mags.

The Hinds posted their hefty team T20 record score of 191/5 after electing to bat, but the Mags very nearly chased it down, on a belter of a track and after taking toll of some pockets of loose bowling.

The Magicians got to 184/8 in reply - the new Mags T20 record, eclipsing their previous team best of 176/4, and earning a bonus point for the big score, even in defeat.

But it was small consolation, in veteran Nat Cox's final match before retiring from the game, as her side finished just seven runs short.

Nat Cox bowed out in Nelson | PHOTOSPORT

All this after having conceded another bonus point to the Hinds just two days earlier at Hagley when a showcase of power hitting from Hinds import Bryony Smith helped the Hinds get on the board.

That win, in a rain-reduced five-over match, also marked captain Hannah Rowe's 100th T20 for the side - the first Hinds player to reach that milestone.

The rematch in Nelson was then Rowe's 150th T20 overall, and the 375 match aggregate of runs at Saxton Oval is understood to be a women's Super Smash record.

•••

The Hearts-Sparks last-ball nailbiter in Auckland came hot on the heels of an even closer much talked-about tied game between Northern Brave men and the Volts at Mount Maunganui the other night.

The biggest talking point at Bay Oval was not the relatively rare result, but a world-first tactical move from the Brave that saw both ex-skipper Jeet Raval and youngster Xavier Bell retire out during the chase, near the start of the 17th and 18th overs respectively. 

It was the first time two batters had retired out in the same T20 innings, worldwide!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Super Smash (@supersmashnz)

The Brave had needed 58 off 24 balls when Raval (23 off 28) walked back to the pavilion and then Bell (nine off 13) did the same next over, the start of the 18th.

Twenty-five-year old keeper Ben Pomare was captaining this match, after an injury to regular captain Robbie O'Donnell in the previous round.

Pomare (20 off 10) and Scott Kuggeleijn (34 not out off 12, below) threw everything at it at the death to almost get past the Volts' 166/6.

PHOTOSPORT

But that's the exact score the Brave finished with themselves, and the teams split the points for a tie. Always a weird feeling when it happens.

Retiring out in a T20 is even rarer than a tied result.

Number of tied results 

2005/06 to 2025/26, by team:

Men

• 4  Canterbury Kings
• 5  Auckland Aces
• 5  Volts (also experienced a tie in the Champions League)
• 2  Wellington Firebirds
• 2  Northern Brave
• 2  Central Stags

Women

• 2  Wellington Blaze
• 2  Sparks
• 1  Central Hinds
• 2  Northern Brave
• 1  Auckland Hearts
• 4  Canterbury Magicians 

* Super Over tiebreaks were previously utilised in some, but not all, seasons

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Super Smash (@supersmashnz)

With the action moving to the Cello Basin Reserve, all eyes will be on Central Stags captain Tom Bruce who has dashed back to his team fresh off winning the ILT20 with the Desert Vipers in Dubai.

He takes over from Jayden Lennox who is heading to India with the BLACKCAPS, along with stars Will Young and Josh Clarkson.

The Stags are the defending champs but have been on the slide since their opening round win against the same team they will face in Wellington in a big game for both sides.

The men's points to date:

• Aces (4 games) 12
• Kings (3 games) 12
• Volts (4 games) 6
• Firebirds (4 games) 6
• Brave (3 games) 4
• Stags (4 games) 4

As the Super Smash continues to rev up across January, catch every ball live and free in New Zealand on TVNZ+ and TVNZ Duke, with livescoring at www.nzc.nz

Coming up:

• Wellington, Wednesday 7 January: Wellington Blaze & Firebirds v Central Hinds & Stags
• Hamilton, Thursday 8 January: Northern Brave v Canterbury Kings & Magicians
• Wellington, Friday 9 January: Wellington Blaze & Firebirds v Sparks & Volts