Otago host Northern Districts in the last game day of Super Smash before finals and this offers a lovely juncture to check in with the best youngsters across both competitions. Keep this tucked away for finals to see which young players step up for finals cricket but winning Super Smash championships usually features mature players leading their teams with dominant performances.

Wellington Blaze are already locked in for finals and they have two intriguing youngsters leading the best development pipeline in Aotearoa. Georgia Plimmer is the leading run-scorer for youngsters and her trend of not-outs continues with two more not-out innings added to her tally in her last two games. Plimmer has been dismissed just three times in her nine innings so far and she has maintained a strong strike-rate throughout the competition.

Xara Jetly is also a factor with the ball in a funky spin quartet for Wellington which also features Amelia Kerr, Leigh Kasperek (first and second for wickets prior to Otago vs ND) and Nicole Baird. As noted in the stat breakdown below, Jetly joins White Ferns spinners Fran Jonas and Eden Carson as well as Canterbury's Sarah Asmussen as the best young spinners; Jetly's slightly more economical than the other three.

An enticing pocket is the cluster of young seamers near the top of the wicket-taking charts. Marama Downes has been in fantastic form as Northern Brave chase finals cricket and Emma Black continues her excellent Super Smash career with another strong campaign. Skye Bowden hasn't played since January 12th and she has only played five games, meaning she is the only bowler with 10+ wickets who has played less than eight games.

Auckland also have Prue Catton brewing as a talented batter who also has mature mana that many youngsters lack. Catton finished with 53 runs vs ND and she had five 20+ scores in her eight innings, scoring with a similar strike-rate to Plimmer. The only difference between Plimmer and Catton are the not-outs for Plimmer with Catton serving up the best average for youngsters not named Plimmer.

Heading into the Otago v ND game, Bella James has also had a steady season as Otago's best batter in support of Suzie Bates. This game will also feature Hong Kong international Marina Lamplough and Nensi Patel for Northern Brave, both of whom have been solid as the schedule offered consistent games for ND to finish the campaign.

Best Youngsters In Women's Super Smash

Batting

• Georgia Plimmer: 187 runs @ 62avg/104sr

• Prue Catton: 186 runs @ 23avg/105sr

• Bella James: 153 runs @ 17avg/104sr

• Marina Lamplough: 130 runs @ 16avg/107sr

• Nensi Patel: 118 runs @ 19avg/95sr

Bowling

• Marama Downes: 14w @ 11avg/5.2rpo

• Emma Black: 13w @ 14avg/5.8rpo

• Skye Bowden: 10w @ 12avg/7.6rpo

• Fran Jonas: 9w @ 17avg/5.9rpo

• Eden Carson: 9w @ 21avg/5.9rpo

• Xara Jetly: 9w @ 21avg/5.7rpo

• Sarah Asmussen: 9w @ 23avg/6.1rpo

Wellington are also well represented in the blokes competition with Tim Robinson still chillin' as the leading run-scorer despite not playing since January 11th. Robinson is the only batter with 200+ runs who has batted in less than eight innings (six innings for Robinson) and he also has the second highest strike-rate for batter with 200+ runs.

Muhammad Abbas has flashed his ability throughout Super Smash, primarily with the bat as his lefty-seam hasn't been required for the Firebirds. Nathan Smith has been in tremendous form this season and he is one of three Firebirds who have taken 12+ wickets (Logan van Beek and Peter Younghusband lead the way). Smith is also second to Auckland's Ben Lister as the most economical bowlers in the group of nine who have taken 12+ wickets.

Will O'Rourke has climbed into the 12+ wicket group with 9w in his last four games. O'Rourke and Smith are just ahead of Zak Foulkes for wickets as the O'Rourke/Foulkes combo leads Canterbury's bowling mahi. O'Rourke is steaming in, hitting a niggly length with wobble (usually into right-handers) while Foulkes is one of the trickiest seamers in Super Smash, offering movement both ways as well as nifty slower options.

Angus McKenzie deserves a salute for his sneaky fantastic T20 record. McKenzie is playing his role nicely in the Canterbury team, usually operating as the fourth seamer who can adapt to any situation. Despite being a capable batter, McKenzie is yet to put up a score in Super Smash but his 9w @ 26avg/9.4rpo is keeping his T20 bowling average in the early-20s with 22avg/8rpo after 24 games.

Canterbury also have two of the hardest hitting youngsters aside from Robinson. Bevon Jacobs has the second highest strike-rate behind Doug Bracewell's 202sr, with Jacobs and Bracewell being the only lads over 190sr. The best thing about Jacobs is how he smashes boundaries with timing, leaning into strokes as the ball zooms away from his bat.

Hay's T20 strike-rate is a wee bit more surprising as his oomph is not as obvious compared to Jacobs or others who smack boundaries. Hay is one of eight batters who have strike-rates over 170 and he is only behind Jacobs, then Finn Allen as youngsters with monster strike-rates. The difference for Hay is that he also has a First-Class batting average of 42 and he continues to build a compelling case as the best emerging wicket-keeper/batter in Aotearoa.

Northern Districts men finish their season today and are out of finals contention, after back to back championships. Katene Clarke was solid without being as dominant as he was in previous years and he is second to Jeet Raval for Brave runs heading into the last game. Clarke still has a steady T20 record of 23avg/136sr despite this dip in production and as List-A cricket is his best format (29avg/93sr), watch out for how Clarke slides into Ford Trophy.

Who is the best ND bowler? Tim Pringle, although he is the third best lefty spinner for wickets behind Louis Delport and Jayden Lennox. Pringle also has a slightly higher economy rate than Ajaz Patel who is a wicket behind Pringle in the lefty bracket, while Peter Younghusband is another notable spinner.

Pringle is building a strong T20 record though with 25avg/6.8rpo in 30 innings. Having played ODIs and T20Is for Netherlands, Pringle's best format is T20 and it's the only zone of his five formats in which he averages less than 30. Sticking to the realms below international cricket, Pringle has a FC average of 37 after just four games and a LA average of 60. With Adithya Ashok out of the Super Smash mix right now, Pringle is the best young spinner and it will be interesting to see how he develops across Ford Trophy and Plunket Shield.

Best Youngsters In Men's Super Smash

Batting

• Tim Robinson: 298 runs @ 59avg/187sr

• Muhammad Abbas: 174 runs @ 21avg/122sr

• Katene Clarke: 166 runs @ 18avg/116sr

• Bevon Jacobs: 132 runs @ 44avg/194sr

• Mitch Hay: 132 runs @ 26avg/176sr

Bowling

• Will O'Rourke: 12w @ 17avg/7.9rpo

• Nathan Smith: 12w @ 18avg/6.4rpo

• Zak Foulkes: 11w @ 17avg/6.4rpo

• Tim Pringle: 10w @ 24avg/8.3rpo

• Angus McKenzie: 9w @ 26avg/9.4rpo

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