Rachel Priest and Sophie Devine were both in action on finals day of the Women's T20 Super League, which unfortunately followed the general vibe of our Kiwi County Tour Super League excursion. The 2018 Super League has seen some solid performances from our kiwi cricketers, yet far from the dominance that we have seen previously and based on those lofty standards, this year's competition was a bit downbuzz.

In the semi-final, Priest hit 24 off 17 balls as her Western Storm were defeated by Surrey Stars. Surrey batted first and put up 162/5 and Western gave it a decent crack, but were left stranded on 153/6 after their 20 overs. Priest finished with a strike-rate of 141.17 and was dismissed in the 4th over, laying a nice platform for her middle order who couldn't quite get the job done.

Surrey went on to play Loughborough Lightning in the final, where Devine was waiting for them. Devine finished up as the 2nd best bowler and was 8th in runs, thus making it a disappointing finish to her Super League campaign as she went wicket-less in 3 overs @ 12.33rpo as Surrey charged to 183/6 in their 20 overs. Devine stumbled her way to 5 off 3 in reply and Loughborough were rolled for 117, with Surrey Stars winning their first Super League title.

Devine was the shining light for the KCT and Loughborough needed more from her in such a big game. Devine finished with 16w @ 16.18avg/7.22rpo, a fine effort from one of the premier all-rounders in women's cricket and Amy Satterthwaite was the only kiwi to score more runs than Devine's 269 runs @ 29.88avg/146.99sr.Prior to the final, Devine was one a three-game streak of taking wickets as well as scoring 20+ runs. Hence, for Devine to take no wickets and score just 5 runs was such a bummer.

Western made it to finals day, however Priest wasn't overly influential at the top of the order for the Storm. Priest does play a pinch-hitting role that puts a greater focus on her strike-rate (139.69sr) ahead of anything else, but 183 runs @ 18.30avg with a highest score of 37 was solid without being spectacular. Western did finish with the two highest run-scorers, which puts a positive twist of Priest's campaign as she wasn't required to score big runs and it was instead, her job to get the party started.

The two OGs of the KCT were again, solid without being spectacular and Lancashire Thunder along with Southern Vipers needed more from Satterthwaite and Suzie Bates to make finals day. Satterthwaite finished 6th in runs with 277 runs @ 34.62avg/127.06sr and Bates was 10th with 245 runs @ 27.22avg/115.02sr. In a combined 20 innings, Satterthwaite and Bates scored 50+ just three times and while their numbers are boosted by knocks in the 80's, the consistency wasn't there for their respective teams to enjoy success.

With the ball, Satterthwaite and Bates were good, just not the world-class forces that we have come to expect - same with the bat. Satterthwaite used herself sparingly as a bowler, bowling in just 5 of 10inns and when she did bowl, she went alright; 4w @ 18avg/7.20rpo. Same for Bates as she took 9w in 9inns @ 25avg/8.18rpo and Amelia Kerr was the only KCT bowler who finished with an economy rate under 7rpo.

Playing alongside Bates and Sara McGlashan in a struggling Southern team, Kerr settled into her first Super League campaign nicely; 10w in 9inns @ 23.10avg/6.50rpo. The issue for the Vipers was that Kerr was their best bowler and while Loughborough had three bowlers take 14+ wickets, Kerr was the only Southern bowler to take 10+ wickets.

We have heard a lot of buzz about Kerr's batting and her all-round abilities, although none of this was evident during the Super League. Kerr batted in 8inns and managed 61 runs @ 8.71avg/88.40sr in what could be viewed as a reality check, especially given the research and homework franchise T20 teams can do. Ultimately, Kerr is a bowler first and until she consistently scores runs against strong opposition, that'll be the case. Kerr was damn solid with the ball in her first Super League and will be better for the experience.

McGlashan? Well, solid without being spectacular. There's no other way to say it, so I'll keep repeating it and while it's hard to be critical of McGlashan's 164 runs @ 23.42avg/123.30sr as she was playing her role, in a struggling team, that kinda sums up the Vipers campaign and also the Super League from a KCT perspective.

All the kiwis did their jobs and other than Devine's stand out performances, the kiwis ticked the boxes without going above and beyond. While we'd love to see our KCT women dominant the Super League, for the likes of Kerr (first timer), Priest and McGlashan (role-players) this is all good. For Bates and Satterthwaite, we have come to expect more from them and their teams needed those two at their best. 

Devine finishes as the KCT Women's Super League MVP. The KCT now moves into County Championship mode and we'll be keeping a close eye on any upcoming White Ferns cricket.

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Peace and love 27.