Central Districts and Otago split their encounter in Napier with a win each as Suzie's Sparks were too good for their hosts and Will Young went large to lead the Stags to victory. Batting first, Central Hinds scored 115/7 with overseas import Hollie Armitage their only batter to score 20+ runs (47 runs @ 117sr) while Emma Black (2w @ 6.3rpo) and Eden Carson (3w @ 3.7rpo) were the best bowlers for Sparks.

Otago chased that down in 17 overs and only lost 2 wickets. Suzie Bates was not-out on 52 runs (106sr) and Bella James hit 39 runs @ 118sr in a strong opening partnership. Along with James, Polly Inglis (13 runs @ 144sr) continues to put up steady mahi in the supporting bracket around Bates and there is still lovely efficiency in the Sparks batting line up alongside Bates...

• Suzie Bates: 328 runs @ 82avg/113sr

• Bella James: 134 runs @ 19avg/104sr

• Felicity Robertson: 85 run @ 14avg/102sr

• Polly Inglis: 66 runs @ 13avg/108sr

• Caitlin Blakely: 51 runs @ 12avg/100sr

Bates is piling up runs and the other four all have strike-rates over 100. This is also Otago's top-five batters in their line up which means that all five have strike-rates over 100. Many Super Smash wahine teams would envy that and they would also envy the quality of young bowlers who lead the Sparks attack.

Black and Carson took 2+ wickets each for the first time this season. Black had 1 wicket in each of the six games prior while Carson had 1 wicket in four of the six games prior, with no wickets in two games. Now Black's level with PJ Watkins on 8w, with Carson just behind them...

• Emma Black: 8w @ 19avg/6.1rpo

• Eden Carson: 7w @ 20avg/6rpo

Black (25ov) and Carson (24ov) have both bowled 20+ overs. The only other Sparks bowled in this mix is Hayley Jensen and aside from Watkins' 1ov @ 10rpo, Jensen's 4ov @ 8rpo was the most expensive for Sparks against Hinds. Tracking Jensen's mahi is intriguing as she has been graced with steady White Ferns selection and isn't doing much in the Super Smash...

• Batting: 28 runs @ 9avg/77sr

• Bowling: 2w @ 82avg/7.1rpo

While not at Jensen's level in the White Ferns mixer, it's a similar vibe for the Hinds trio of seamers. Hannah Rowe (129 runs @ 43avg/98sr) is second to Armitage for Hinds run-scoring which highlights her quality as a cricketer but the seam department has not been as potent as one may assume...

• Rosemary Mair: 5w @ 24avg/6.7rpo

• Hannah Rowe: 3w @ 40avg/7.1rpo

• Claudia Green: 2w @ 50avg/6.2rpo

Will Young again showcased his batting talent with 101* @ 160sr as he batted throughout the innings, sharing a hefty partnership with Dane Cleaver (50 runs @ 151sr). Central Stags put up 187/5 and defended that thanks to 4w @ 6rpo from Ajaz Patel and 3w @ 6.3rpo from Bevan Small.

Young has a fabulous T20 record of 26.62avg/133.8sr, while also averaging 40+ in First-Class and List-A batting. Not forget about Young's 44.42avg in ODI batting either.

Cleaver has the most runs of wicket-keepers in Super Smash this season. Here's a quick round up of wicket-keepers in Super Smash...

• Dane Cleaver: 179 runs @ 29avg/127sr

• Mitch Hay: 117 runs @ 39avg/195sr

• Tim Seifert: 90 runs @ 22avg/150sr

• Max Chu: 86 runs @ 21avg/179sr

• Cam Fletcher: 37 runs @ 12avg/105sr

• Tom Blundell: 71 runs @ 71vg/182sr

• Callum McLachlan: 29 runs @ 9avg/111sr

Small is the leading wicket-taker ahead of the Canterbury vs Wellington game on January 11th. Small has 12w @ 12avg/8.8rpo which is extra funky considering that Small didn't play for Central Stags from 2019-2022 and he's playing most of his cricket in Super Smash. Small was a consistent figure on the domestic circuit since his FC debut in 2011 (Small dismissed umpire Shaun Haig twice in his debut vs Otago) prior to dipping out of the mix and now he's dominating Super Smash.

Along with two 50+ scores in FC, plus LA and T20 batting strike-rates over 100, Small has a solid bowling record...

• FC: 34.54avg/3.71rpo

• LA: 29.08avg/5.58rpo

• T20: 28.36avg/8.81rpo

Join the Niche Cache Patreon whanau to support our kiwi sports content straight up, get a karma boost and find extra podcasts.

Every Monday and Friday we fire off an email newsletter with bonus content. Sign up here!

Peace and love.