The best batsman in Aotearoa can't play for Aotearoa and a team stacked with T20 troopers is struggling to win a Super Smash game. That's how things sit after the two early-week games in which Otago Volts fell victim to another Devon Conway onslaught, then Central Districts Stags grabbed a win over Canterbury after Mr six-hitter Leo Carter dismantled Northern Districts Knights to keep the Knights to 2-5. I'll start with the Knights as things are a wee bit strange in the northern districts (where ever the fuck they are?).

Being tonked for 70 off 29 deliveries by Carter caught everyone's attention and Carter had bang 7 sixes because Canterbury were chasing 220; somehow a Knights team featuring current Blackcaps T20I players Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn and Ish Sodhi lost a game scoring 219/7. That's a very general wrap up, but plants the seed of how are the Knights 2-5 in the Super Smash, stuck to the bottom of the table. ND and Canterbury are tied on 10 points, Canterbury have a far healthier Net Run Rate to have them ahead of ND, however I personally don't have high expectations for a Canterbury team that has pivoted towards a younger group.

The Knights on the other hand, have a collection of Aotearoa's premier T20 talent and appear to be quite far off the pace. With two more games to play for ND, they have an opportunity to rectify this and that's reason for intrigue given the talent that could explode and remind folks of their Blackcaps T20I hopes.

The bowlers have been fairly solid for ND, with seamers Brett Randell and Anurag Verma offering low key steady contributions and things get funky when pondering the work of Blackcaps Ish Sodhi (33.85avg/8.85rpo) and Scott Kuggeleijn (52.16avg/10.09).

Two Blackcaps T20I bowlers under-performing and two batsmen in the top-20 for runs, sets the scene for some Knights struggles. Tim Seifert is sizzling, 2nd in runs with 48.66avg/151.29sr and along with Mitchell who is the second-best batsman and bowler for the Knights, these two are making compelling cases for further Blackcaps T20I opportunities.

Dean Brownlie? 19.28avg/142.10sr.

Anton Devcich? 14.28avg/140.84sr.

Daniel Flynn? 9.80avg/132.43sr.

If the OG veterans are struggling, along with those who should be frothing to stack up commanding performances as they hunt for World T20 selection, it makes for a strange ol' situation. Somehow, the Knights have low key imploded considering that they are also at the bottom of the Plunket Shield table (0-1-2) and are 4th in the Ford Trophy (2-3). Somehow, the Knights aren't very good anymore and let's just say that I'm curious.

Devon Conway (Wellington) finished last season as the best batsman in Aotearoa, across all formats and up until recently, I sat with Tom Bruce (CD Stags) as the best batsman. Conway's recent Super Smash antics have seen him reclaim this crown with a century in the dominant win over Otago, while Bruce has hit a minor (super minor) plateau. Across all formats, Conway has batted 19 times this summer and scored 50+ nine times, currently leading Plunket Shield runs and Ford Trophy runs. Remember that this is merely a continuation of last summer and Conway has firmly established himself as a run-scoring monster, regardless of the format.

Conway will sweep…

Conway will pull…

Conway will lean back cut…

Conway will thread the needle outside off…

Conway will slap over point…

The Stags win over Canterbury yesterday featured 81 @ 158.82sr from Dane Cleaver, along with 4w @ 6.50rpo from Blair Tickner. Cleaver's in a rich little pond of form as he sits in the solid spot of 10th in Plunket Shield runs, but his white-ball work has seen Cleaver hit a nek level as he's 3rd in Ford Trophy runs (53.60avg/86.17sr) and 8th in Super Smash runs (26.22avg/139.64sr).

Across the formats, Cleaver has set himself up as the leading wicket-keeper batsman in Aotearoa. Well, this is more an example of the complex wicket-keeper landscape in Aotearoa as BJ Watling and Tom Blundell have both been with the Blackcaps, while Glenn Phillips is a spot ahead of Cleaver in Ford Trophy and Conway is ahead of Cleaver in Super Smash and Plunket Shield runs, but neither Phillips nor Conway are full-time glovemen for their respective teams; Ben Horne and Blundell do that job more often than not. Cleaver keeps wicket for the Stags across all formats and is among the best batsmen, across all formats. I don't know if that means anything, considering the abundance of wicket-keeper/batsmen around Aotearoa, just don't sleep of Cleaver.

Tickner's tally yesterday takes him up to 4th in wickets with 11w @ 24.81avg/10.11rpo and sets Tickner up as the best Blackcaps T20I seamer in the Super Smash right now. Well, of the fringe group and Tickner's main competition in this group has slid backwards with Kuggleijn and Seth Rance (45.75avg/9.15rpo) struggling. For those who are curious, Kyle Jamieson played two games before joining the Blackcaps in Australia and didn't take a wicket in those 6 overs, conceding 9.33rpo.

Wellington's Ollie Newton has joined Ajaz Patel at the top of the wicket-taker rankings on 15w, although it's still Patel who intrigues me the most. Newton and Patel both struggled in their last game with Newton taking 1w @ 10rpo and Patel snaring 1w @ 13.33rpo, yet here they are with 15w and averages under 20.

Patel's especially intriguing for me and I've consistently outlined his career T20 record - which now sits at 21.14avg/7.90rpo. That easily makes T20 cricket Patel's best format as he's at 31.60avg in First-Class and 44.26avg in List-A, even more impressive is the gap between Patel and the rest of the Super Smash spinners this season.

Ajaz Patel: 15w @ 15.13avg/7.36rpo.

Cole McConchie: 9w @ 17.11avg/6.69rpo.

Roneel Hira: 8w @ 25.75avg/8.24rpo.

Ish Sodhi: 7w @ 33.85avg/7.68rpo.

Michael Rippon: 6w @ 36.16avg/8.03rpo.

Blake Coburn: 5w @ 33avg/9.16rpo.

Six bowlers have 10+ wickets and Ajaz Patel's the only spinner in that group.

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Peace and love 27.