2022/23 Super Smash: Canterbury vs Northern Final Preview
Last summer Northern defeated Canterbury in the Men's Super Smash final and these two teams are locked in for another final after Northern bumped Otago out in Thursday's elimination final. Both teams have exceptional batting units, while Canterbury have young seamers and grizzly spinners up against Northern's veteran seamers and young spinners.
Mitchell Santner's availability will be crucial for Northern after he left the field against Otago due to a thumb/hand injury. Santner hit 18 runs @ 180sr late in Northern's innings and then conceded 16.5rpo off his 2 overs, although some of those runs came after Santner got whacked on his hand. Santner led Northern to last year's championship with 92* @ 230sr and tidy bowling, so his all-round mahi will be crucial for Northern.
Neither team lacks batting oomph...
Northern: Katene Clarke (135sr), Tim Seifert (156sr), Jeet Raval (127sr), Joe Carter (117sr), Mitch Santner (153sr), Henry Cooper (99sr), Brett Hampton (130sr), Scott Kuggeleijn (140sr).
Canterbury: Chad Bowes (157sr), Ken McClure (149sr), Leo Carter (122sr), Cole McConchie (125sr), Mitch Hay (127sr), Zak Foulkes (111sr)
Northern have a longer hitting line up, Canterbury's top-order feels more solid.
Katene Clarke cracked 71 runs @ 209sr in last year's final. Against Otago on Thursday, Clarke set the tone for Northern with 73 runs @ 187sr. Clarke is settling into this role and is one of the best top-order sluggers in Aotearoa, now with a T20 record of 24.95avg/142.43sr.
Chad Bowes serves up similar mahi to Clarke. Bowes has a T20 record of 30avg/138.57sr and while he is second to Dean Foxcroft in Super Smash runs, Bowes has the most 50+ scores in Super Smash along with the second highest strike-rate behind Josh Clarkson for batters with 200+ runs.
Northern have Neil Wagner and Kuggeleijn leading their seam department, with Hampton chiming in. Wagner has 8w @ 9.5avg, Kuggeleijn has 8w @ 23avg.
Canterbury have Zak Foulkes, Will O'Rourke, Angus McKenzie and Ed Nuttall as seamers likely to play in the final. Foulkes and McKenzie have 12w with averages below 15, O'Rourke averages a smidge below 20. These three are among the best young seamers in Super Smash. Add Henry Shipley into this mix as he may return from Blackcaps duty.
Depending on Santner's availability, Northern can deploy Tim Pringle, Joe Walker and Freddie Walker. If Santner's out, then F-Walker can plug that spin hole. Pringle is the best Northern spinner and most economical (9w @ 17.7avg/6.4rpo), while J-Walker consistently gets the most rip of Aotearoa's finger spinners.
Canterbury's spin comes from Todd Astle and McConchie. Astle is the main lad to watch out for here as his 6.62rpo is slightly lower than Pringle and he has 10w. McConchie only has 1w @ 7.48rpo but his combination with Astle during the middle stages is a funky weapon for Canterbury as they can tie teams up, especially with their Hagley Oval nous.
Hagley Oval nous will be a factor. Last summer Northern won the final at Seddon Park where their spin shines. This summer the final is in Christchurch where Canterbury's young seamers thrive and Canterbury have ample experience managing Hagley Oval's open spaces.
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