After defeating Wellington in the eliminator final, Canterbury now face Northern in Hamilton for the Super Smash championship. There will be a few notes about Wellington in the Friday email dispatch to sum up their Super Smash campaign and there are some vibes present throughout recent games that can be tied together nicely; Wellington lacked a splash of polish against Northern which was then evident in the next game, the elimination final vs Canterbury.

Wellington batted first vs Northern with Finn Allen smacking 64 runs @ 228.57sr and Michael Bracewell smacking 63 runs @ 165.78sr. Wellington were 100/2 after 8.5 overs and Northern then pulled this game back into balance, dismissing Wellington for 167. Henry Cooper noted while mic'd up that Northern were well aware of how an innings can flip from the first 10 overs to the second 10 overs and Northern's experienced quality stuck to their process.

In the elimination final, Wellington worked their way to 190/3 and then had Canterbury 93/4 after 12 overs. 100 runs required in 8 overs and after Northern trusted their vibe to rectify a hot start by Wellington, Canterbury trusted their finishing vibe to stay solid as pressure mounted. Leo Carter finished not-out on 44 (146.66sr) and Cameron Fletcher hit 63* (252sr) to seal the win with three balls to spare.

Hence we have a Northern vs Canterbury final. Two teams with high quality Blackcaps and experienced domestic troopers, in tune with their skills, who can ride the ups and downs of an innings. Now we have a final at Seddon Park and for all the big names involved in this final, a local lad by the name of Joe Walker may hold the key for Northern.

Northern have only played two games at Hamilton, one washed out and a 4 wicket win over Auckland in which Walker took 4w @ 7.75rpo. Walker has 14w @ 6.74rpo/11.5sr and is one of the few, if not the only finger spinner genuinely tweaking deliveries like your stressed out mate. Walker has been far more effective in taking wickets than Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, yet bowling units are units that work together and all three of Northern's spinners are conceding less than 6.80rpo.

Chuck in another local Hamiltonian Anurag Verma who is tied with Walker on 14w (@ 7.42rpo). Verma and Walker have bowled the most overs for Northern which helps them get more wickets, although they the only Northern bowlers with strike-rates below 12 and that's a mark of their efficiency.

In their most recent game (that win over Wellington), Northern rolled out a bowling unit of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Verma, Sodhi, Santner and Walker. That feels like their best unit which will probably make Scott Kuggeleijn surplus to requirements, especially on a Seddon Park deck that Northern's three spinners should enjoy.

No Northern batter has been super dominant, they just get the job done. Tim Seifert has the most runs for example and he is still in this elongated patch of cricket where he isn't blazing boundaries as most think Seifert does (123.80sr). That's all good when Colin de Grandhomme's in the mix (144.37sr), Santner's breaking museum windows (150sr) and Katene Clarke loves playing Canterbury; Clarke cracked 32* @ 266.66 on one leg in the game when Boult hit the winning runs and then returned from injury with 31 runs @ 134.78sr vs Canterbury.

Clarke might be the low key chap to keep an eye on here. Northern's Blackcaps will receive all the attention and hype, yet with the trio of Clarke, Verma and Walker there are three lads who can all contribute to winning cricket with their skills, experience and craft.

Northern have five bowlers likely to play in the final conceding less than 8rpo, Canterbury have three. Yesterday's elimination final saw Matt Henry take 2w @ 11.75rpo and Henry Shipley take 1w @ 5.25rpo as Canterbury took 3 wickets and still won the game. That alludes to a possible advantage in Northern's bowling unit and the Cantabs may opt for Blake Coburn's lefty leggies in Hamilton if they can squeeze in an extra spinner.

Cole McConchie rolled out his best bowling performance of the campaign yesterday with 4 overs @ 6rpo and that's a great sign, especially if Todd Astle's at his best. Canterbury's best bowlers though are Henry, Shipley and Nuttall which provides an immense match up against a frisky Northern batting group.

Canterbury Best Bowlers

Henry Shipley: 2nd - 16w @ 7.22rpo/11.6sr.

Ed Nuttall: 4th - 15w @ 9.40avg/14.8sr.

Matt Henry: 8th - 14w @ 8.13rpo/15.4sr.

Todd Astle: 15th - 10w @ 6.57rpo/22.8sr.

Canterbury's batting group is about as hearty as they get. Don't listen to any commentary about Tom Latham holding down an end and letting Chad Bowes swing freely as Latham's got Canterbury's highest strike-rate (185sr), in fact the legendary Test opener is the only notable Cantab batter with a batting strike-rate over 165. Of course Bowes is Canterbury's leading run-scorer and along with Daryl Mitchell, they form a niggly top order.

De Grandhomme is the only Northern batter with 9+ sixes. Canterbury have Fletcher leading all batters with 22, Latham on 11, Shipley and Carter on 9. I've celebrated Michael Bracewell as the best leader and his finishing knocks are part of that, while Fletcher may be the best pure finisher and his last 10 games feature four winning knocks...

Dec 19 vs Wellington: 52* @ 185.71sr.

Dec 31 vs Central: 48* @ 228.57sr.

Jan 7 vs Auckland: 57* @ 146.15sr.

Jan 27 vs Wellington: 63* @ 252sr.

That's a winner folks.

Tap in for the major Blackcaps buzz. There is a different energy to these games where Aotearoa's best cricketers are showcasing pride and passion for their domestic teams, while executing world class skills in the domestic arena. Canterbury also have Fletcher, Bowes and Shipley operating at a high level. Northern have Verma and Walker in fine bowling form, while there are some notable young lads in each team like Leo Carter and Katene Clarke who ooze talent. Tremendous.

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