Women's Super Smash enters a funky phase with the White Ferns departing, Aussie imports arriving and hearty domestic cricketers improving. Wellington are 8-0 and while they lost a bunch of wahine to the T20 World Cup, dominant Super Smash players were joined by Aussies Laura Harris and Charli Knott who share a Brisbane Heat WBBL connection with the Kerr sisters.

In Monday's win over Canterbury, Harris whacked 67* @ 248.14sr and Knott offered a slightly more mellow 51 runs @ 212.5sr. While those exceptional knocks may not be on offer every innings, Harris and Knott add immense quality to Wellington. In the WBBL late last year, Harris scored 270 runs @ 22.5avg/204.54sr and Knott scored 143 runs @ 23.83avg/112.59sr while also taking 7w @ 26.28avg/7rpo.

Harris and Knott showcased their talents against Canterbury, don't overlook local ladies for Wellington though. Rebecca Burns also hit 24 runs @ 141.17sr and had as good a case as any other batter for T20WC selection, currently sitting fourth in SS with 228 runs @ 32.57avg/123.24sr. Of the seven batters who have scored 200+ runs, only Suzie Bates has a higher strike-rate than Burns.

With the injection of Harris and Knott, Wellington rolled with Burns, Thamsyn Newton and Jess McFadyen as their first three batters. Newton can play every role in cricket and has been opening this season, while there could be a lovely opportunity for McFadyen to shine in a top-order batting slot. McFadyen scored 24 runs @ 114.28sr against Canterbury and she has an impressive strike-rate of 122.22 this season.

Knott also bowled with 1w @ 5.5rpo from her 2 overs. Wellington have the two best spinners in SS with Leigh Kasperek taking 11w @ 13.63avg/6rpo and Nicole Baird consistently gathering wickets, now with 10w @ 9avg/5rpo. Xara Jetly is also in the Wellington spin unit and she has 8w @ 19.37avg/6.45rpo. Wellington still have the best group of spin bowlers in SS and are still the best team despite their WF exodus.

How Canterbury responds to this performance will be a key factor in their finals push. Canterbury have lost Lea Tahuhu and still have the two best SS seamers in Gabby Sullivan (1st - 12w @ 13.16avg/6rpo) and Missy Banks (3rd - 11w @ 18.54avg/7.84rpo). Spinner Sarah Asmussen has settled into her SS campaign after taking no wickets in her first two games, joining Satterthwaite on 9w with averages less than 20.

Sullivan, Banks and Asmussen could benefit from the Wellington game and any team wanting SS success will need to elevate their mahi against Wellington's firepower. Canterbury have Satterthwaite and Kate Anderson in the group of seven batters who have scored 200+ runs, while Nat Cox has chimed in with 133 runs. The next best Canterbury batter is Laura Hughes on 45 runs and this highlights how important the role-playing batting slots will be for Canterbury, especially as Tahuhu won't be there to bang boundaries.

Otago have Suzie Bates and Kate Ebrahim who have scored 200+ runs. Bates departs and Ebrahim keeps on groovin' as her SS record of 216 runs @ 43.2avg/104.34sr looks fabulous alongside another exceptional HBJ Shield summer with 337 runs @ 112.33avg.

Ebrahim has proven herself to be highly competitive and delightful leader for Otago, rallying a young group through consistent improvements. Ebrahim's 9w @ 17.77avg/6.4rpo puts her tied with Emma Black (9w @ 16.66avg/6.52rpo) as Otago's best bowlers, while the loss of Hayley Jensen won't impact Otago as much as it may seem given she took 4w @ 39.5avg/6.72rpo.

Eden Carson's departure leaves a spin hole (7w @ 18.57avg/5.86rpo). Ebrahim and Black offer seam bowling, along with Molly Loe who is yet to take a wicket and could be elevated for more mahi. Sophie Oldershaw and Caitlin Blakely will enjoy more overs as spinners, with Oldershaw enjoying previous SS success and Blakely chillin' as Otago's best HBJ Shield bowler.

Bella James and Olivia Gain are two batters to keep track of for Otago, along with Blakely. Gain's 113.55sr in SS is matched by 121.87sr in HBJ Shield and along with James (137.14sr), they are the only Otago batters besides Bates and Ebrahim who have hit sixes. Blakely has a strike-rate of 110.16 and for Otago to win SS games, these batters will need to plug a Bates-sized hole in their batting line up.

The recent fixture between Auckland and Northern summed up how these two teams are poised in SS. Northern are 1-5 and are in a niggly zone where they can find ways to lose any game, which then compounds for low mana. They now lose Bernadine Bezuidenhout and Brooke Halliday, neither of whom were dominant in SS which could lead to some kind of resurgence as Northern chase development.

Auckland took advantage of Northern's low mana and are now third on the ladder with a 4-4 record, one spot ahead of Otago (3-3). Auckland lost Lauren Down and she wasn't doing much in SS (122 run @ 17.42avg/82.99sr), neither was Molly Penfold who had five SS games without a wicket. Fran Jonas and Izzy Gaze were already away with the U19 team.

Auckland have two batters with strike-rates over 100, which is a major difference between them and the best teams. At least Bella Armstrong (135.24sr) and Saachi Shahri (101.1sr) are also Auckland's leading run-scorers, setting them up as key figures for Auckland in the next phase.

Auckland are boosted by Holly Huddleston's experience (7w @ 11.71avg/5.12rpo), while Amie Hucker is emerging as low key x-factor for Auckland. Hucker has been Auckland's best bowler with 9w @ 21.33avg/6.85rpo, bowling more overs than Penfold in the same number of games, with twice as many wickets.

Hucker also salvaged Auckland's batting innings against Northern, top-scoring with 32* (80sr) while Katie Perkins was the only other Auckland batter to register more than 5 runs. Hucker then took 2w @ 6.66rpo including the wicket of Halliday.

Auckland and Otago offer an intriguing comparison to track into finals. Auckland have played an extra game and Otago have a no-result, so their mid-table battle will be sorted with the upcoming fixtures. Working in Auckland's favour is how their WF weren't their best players and they will be using the same blueprint, which could feature even more impressive notes about Hucker.

Central are 0-7 and Natalie Dodd deserves a win. Dodd is second in SS with 272 runs @ 45.33avg/111.47sr as well as sixth in HBJ Shield with 145 runs @ 42.33avg/88sr. Dodd has scored 50+ in four of her last five innings.

Unfortunately for Central, Hannah Rowe was their second best batter and best bowler. Rowe now departs with WF and as Central couldn't grab a win with Rowe in their team, serving up her best mahi, they are likely to keep struggling. Apart from Dodd, Central intrigue is all about who steps up to lead them with bat and ball. Georgia Atkinson has flashed her all-round abilities and Claudia Green has taken 8w @ 19.62avg/7.53rpo, so they may be the Central wahine to watch out for.

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