2023/24 Super Smash: Amelia Kerr's Greatness, Don't Forget About Beast And More From Wellington vs Canterbury
Amelia Kerr's emergence as Aotearoa's best wahine cricketer was on display once again as Wellington Blaze and Firebirds enjoyed two wins over Canterbury. Thanks to Kerr's 77 runs @ 140sr and a hearty knock from Rebecca Burns (45 runs @ 132sr), the Blaze worked their way to 154/6. Kerr then took 5 wickets @ 2.5rpo and Xara Jetly showcased her ability with another tidy spell, snaring 1w @ 3.5rpo to restrict Canterbury to 107/9 in reply.
Ahead of Friday's Northern Brave vs Auckland Hearts encounter, Kerr is second for runs with 255 runs @ 63avg/130sr and first for wickets with 11w @ 10avg/4.6rpo. Kerr is joined by Suzie Bates (328 runs @ 82avg/113sr) as the only batters with 200+ runs and yet Kerr has a higher strike-rate.
Kerr has the highest strike-rate of the nine batters who have scored 100+ runs. Older sister Jess Kerr is the only other batter with 50+ runs and a strike-rate over 120, plus J-Kerr has the highest batting strike-rate of batters with 50+ runs (62 runs @ 15avg/134sr).
Skye Bowden is right behind A-Kerr on 10w @ 10avg/7.2rpo and she will play for Auckland on Friday so she could overtake A-Kerr. There is similar efficiency in A-Kerr's bowling though as she is conceding 4.62rpo which makes her the most economical bowler with 6+ wickets. Of the 11 bowlers who have taken 6+ wickets, A-Kerr is the only one who is conceding less than 5rpo.
As noted previously, A-Kerr is part of a funky spin quartet also featuring...
Leigh Kasperek: 8w @ 17avg/5.9rpo
Xara Jetly: 7w @ 18avg/5.4rpo
Nicole Baird: 5w @ 21avg/8.1rpo
Burns delivered her first score over 20 runs in the Super Smash and she may have found a form groove after a tough start to the summer. Burns has 104 runs @ 17avg/105sr in HBJ Shield with a highest score of 32 runs and while struggling for runs, that strike-rate highlights how destructive Burns can be. Boosted by her knock against Canterbury, Burns has 96 runs @ 16avg/100sr in Super Smash and is second behind A-Kerr for boundaries hit by Wellington's batters.
Wellington Firebirds scored 184/5 with Tim Robinson whacking 86 runs @ 186sr and Nick Kelly steering his team to the end with 72* @ 150sr. Canterbury had Angus McKenzie taking 3w @ 5rpo while Zak Foulkes (1w @ 7.2rpo) was their next best bowler. Tom Latham (44 runs @ 129sr) and Henry Nicholls (41 runs @ 157sr) were the best batters as Canterbury reach 163/7 in a quality bowling/fielding performance from Wellington.
Logan van Beek took 2w @ 7.7rpo and Michael Bracewell took 2w @ 6.2rpo, with Bracewell also getting a lovely touch on a straight drive to run out Latham. After a busy year for Netherlands in which he played 16 ODIs, van Beek returned to Aotearoa with 3w @ 74avg/6.7rpo in Ford Trophy. That has flipped to 10w @ 17avg/8rpo in Super Smash with van Beek joining Peter Younghusband (11w @ 14avg/7rpo) and Nathan Smith (10w @ 15avg/6.8rpo) as three of the four Super Smash bowlers with 10+ wickets.
Not only do Wellington own the top of the wicket-taking charts (behind CD's Bevan Small), they have Bracewell back in the mix. Bracewell has now bowled 10 overs in three games with 4w @ 17avg/6.9rpo as well as hitting 55 runs @ 18avg/127sr. Bracewell played six ODIs and three T20Is last year which makes him an intriguing cricketer as he returns to the Blackcaps equation.
Bracewell didn't do much with the bat in his three T20Is but took 4w @ 13avg/5.7rpo with the ball. Bracewell averaged 40+ with bat and ball for the second year in a row of ODI cricket. This isn't as bad as it looks for Bracewell's ODI bowling given his role and that he hovered just above 5rpo in both years. It's pretty good for his ODI batting as he averages 40+ with strike-rates over 110 in both years and has a cheeky century in each year as well.
All of Wellington's wicket-takers average below 25 this season, which can be boiled down to six of the seven wicket-takers averaging below 22. Wellington also have eight batters with 30+ runs and they all have strike-rates over 110, while seven of the eight are over 120sr.
Robinson's the leading run-scorer in Super Smash and his score against Canterbury gives him 298 runs @ 59avg/187sr. Henry Nicholls is the only other batter with 200+ runs and he has a strike-rate of 147. Robinson is still behind Scott Kuggeleijn (73 runs @ 214sr) and Doug Bracewell (139 runs @ 210sr) for the highest batting strike-rates though.
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