There were only two Super Smash T20 games this weekend and only one result, with the Northern Districts vs Central Districts game rained out on Saturday. That game was called off at the innings break, while Auckland and Canterbury did battle down in Christchurch which is where I draw from for my headlining note.

Glenn Phillips is going alright.

After last weekend's Super Smash action, I zoned in on the wicket-keeper/batsmen who performed strongly in the opening games and Phillips has taken that to a new level. In two games, Phillips has two half-centuries and his 50 off 50 balls against Canterbury saw him pace his innings compared to last week's knock as he hit just three boundaries (1x4, 2x6) after hitting 10 boundaries last week (9x4, 1x6).

Phillips is opening the batting for Auckland, replacing Jeet Raval at the top and he came up another young wicket-keeper/batsman who is looking to nudge himself into that conversation to take over from BJ Watling in limited-overs cricket. I've made mention of Tom Blundell and Tim Seifert as leaders of this pack, however Phillips' current T20 form is impossible to ignore and with Cameron Fletcher hitting 43 off 44 balls this weekend; we've got depth.

Fletcher also opened the innings and although it's early days, three of the top-four run-scorers in the Super Smash thus far are wicket-keeper/batsmen; Phillips (1st), Blundell (3rd), Fletcher (4th).

Central Districts vs Northern Districts

Notables

ND 137/6 (6.85rpo)

Dean Brownlie - 43 (138.7sr), Darryl Mitchell - 34 (91.89sr).

Seth Rance - 3/30 @7.50rpo.

Notes

Not a whole lot we can take away from this game, perhaps that Tim Seifert could only muster 11 from 15 balls given the performances of our wicket-keepers around Aotearoa.

Scott Kuggeleijn only made 24* but that came at a strike-rate of 126.31.

Seth Rance is lurking and his 3 wickets puts him closer to the top of the wicket-taker rankings after he went without a wicket in the first game.

Canterbury vs Auckland (Auckland win)

Notables

Canterbury 133/6 (6.55rpo)

Cameron Fletcher - 43 (97.72sr), Henry Nicholls - 39 (144.44sr).

Mark Chapman - 3/22 @5.50rpo.

Auckland 134/4 (7.04rpo)

Glenn Phillips - 50 (100sr), Jeet Raval - 44 (125.71sr)

Notes

What smacks ya in the face from this game is that everyone besides Phillips and Fletcher who scored runs, is a Blackcap. Henry Nicholls has made a name for himself in the T20 stuff, having played for Sydney Thunder and all but for Tom Latham (22 runs/104.76sr) and Jeet Raval to both contribute and score with strike-rates over 100 is pretty damn cool; Latham and Raval are our Test openers!

Mark Chapman didn't need to smack 7 sixes in this game - finishing on 7* - but he did find a way to impact the game with his 3/22 off 4 overs. He now leads the wicket-taker rankings and only Ben Laughlin (ND) and Brent Arnel (Welly) have better economy-rates than Chapman's 5.40rpo of bowlers to take 3 wickets or more.

Had some visitors yesterday! pic.twitter.com/vsyWBSFFD3
— Gray-Nicolls Cricket (@Gray_Nicolls) December 9, 2016

While Canterbury were bolstered by their young Blackcaps in Latham and Nicholls, I can't help but be excited by this young Auckland team that has Phillips opening the batting along with Chapman, Sean Solia, Ben Horne and Michael Barry in the middle order. Horne made his debut and hit 7 off 3 balls.

Canterbury's Aussie import Ben Hilfenhaus; 8 overs, 1 wicket, 6.87rpo #NotIdeal.

A name to note down is Jeremy Benton for Canterbury. He's a 21-year-old left-arm spinner like Chapman, who has represented NZ U19 and had the best figures of Canterbury's bowlers against Auckland; 1/20 off 4 overs @5rpo.