Auckland Hearts and Canterbury Kings had wins at Hagley Oval in Christchurch with the usual supply of enticing cricket mahi from the young brigade. 22-year-old Prue Catton helped Auckland reach 171/6 with 51 runs @ 127sr alongside Brooke Halliday's 62 runs @ 132sr and this was Catton's first 15+ score in Super Smash this season.

Prior to Super Smash Catton was second for runs in the North vs South T20 series with three scores in the 30s making her one of two batters to score 100+ runs in those three games. Catton finished with 103 runs @ 51.5avg/112sr and that followed an HBJ Shield first stanza in which she was Auckland's leading run-scorer with 195 runs @ 39avg/78sr.

Catton had two 50+ scores in HBJ Shield and now has a halfie in Super Smash. Her slow start to Super Smash means Catton is on 72 runs @ 14.4avg/101sr after five innings and she will be a key figure for Auckland's top-order throughout the tournament. Auckland also have a crop of younger seamers that is similar to that of Northern Districts and 17-year-old Ayaan Lambat has added even more funk to this hot pocket...

Molly Penfold: 7w @ 11.8avg/6.3rpo
Josie Penfold: 3w @ 19.6avg/6.5rpo
Bree Illing: 3w @ 25.3avg/6.3rpo
Amie Hucker: 3w @ 29.3avg/6.2rpo
Ayan Lambat: 2w @ 3avg/3.6rpo

Lambat's a genuine all-rounder who has scored 12 runs on Super Smash debut vs Wellington but didn't bowl. In her second game she was graced with a couple overs at the end of the innings and she took 2w @ 3.6rpo with the same pace/bounce package as Auckland's other seamers.

All the Auckland seamers were in the wickets to start HBJ Shield as well..

Bree Illing: 9w @ 23.1avg/4rpo
Josie Penfold: 8w @ 19.8avg/4.4rpo
Amie Hucker: 7w @ 30.8avg/4.6rpo
Molly Penfold: 3w @ 22avg/3.6rpo

Canterbury's blokes continue to be led by the T20 wizard Tom Latham who has 201 runs @ 40.2avg/162sr after five innings. Latham has sneaky good T20 career mahi (29.5ag/133sr) and hit a century in the T20 Blast last year as part of 30avg/138sr across 39 innings raiding England's T20 competition.

The win over Auckland was mainly about Canterbury's emerging talent though as Rhys Mariu hit 43 runs @ 187sr, Matthew Boyle hit 52 runs @ 158sr, Cameron Paul took 2w @ 7rpo and Lachlan Harper hit 15* @ 250sr then took 2w @ 8.5rpo.

That one knock has given Mariu's T20 mahi a boost and he's now on 18.2avg/155sr after four innings. T20 batting is Mariu's weakest zone right now and that appears to fit snug alongside his longfom excellence, although Mariu has scored his First-Class runs quickly when he gets going and lest folks forget that Mariu has already bagged a 50+ score in his first two ODIs.

Mariu scored 58 runs @ 95sr in his second ODI early last year and then scored 414 runs @ 86sr in three FC innings during NZ-A's tour of South Africa. That included a knock of 249 runs @ 96sr as an example of how Mariu can find a scoring groove and his development continued with 148 runs @ 74avg/85sr in the Ford Trophy this season.

Mariu's last two Ford Trophy innings were 67* @ 90sr and 44* @ 100sr, while his last Plunket Shield knock was 147 runs @ 83sr. All of which suggests that Mariu has the skills to score with a strike-rate of at least 130 in T20 cricket and he is quietly gathering momentum as an all-format batter for Canterbury.

Boyle was the leading run-scorer in Super Smash last season so he's just rolling along as one of the most impressive emerging T20 batters in Aotearoa. Boyle's T20 record tells the story as he's on 31.2avg/153sr after 21 innings and Latham is the only other Canterbury batter who has two 50+ scores.

Paul keeps rolling along as well, currently averaging below 22 in all three formats with the ball at 21-years-old. Paul didn't take a wicket in the two games before the win over Auckland and yet he is tied with Cole McConchie as Canterbury's leading wicket-taker with 7w @ 18.1avg/9rpo.

Most notably, Paul has played all five games of Super Smash. He didn't get a game in Ford Trophy to start the season and took 5w @ 22.8avg/3.6rpo in his only Plunket Shield game, so his consistency in Super Smash is a vital development platform. Paul's also a talent batter who is finding his own way to score T20 runs at this level and while he hasn't found that route yet, he does have two not-outs in three innings.

It's far more simple for Harper with the bat as he is eager to smack sixes. In his first two games of Super Smash, Harper has 57 runs @ 173sr with three fours and five sixes. He got tonked around against ND and bounced back in home conditions with his first Super Smash wickets, offering movement both ways with the ability to bang a length like Paul.

Canterbury don't have Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will O'Rourke, Zak Foulkes and Michael Rae in their seam group right now. That's especially funky because O'Rourke and Foulkes were dominant in their Super Smash mahi before stepping up to Blackcaps. Now Canterbury have Paul, Harper and the undercover Fraser Sheat (5w @ 28.8avg/7.5rpo) leading their seam unit and that sums up the seemingly infinite supply of cricketing talent in Aotearoa right now.

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Peace and love.