Stats Analysis: Top Performers in the Women’s Super Smash 2023-24

The recent edition of the Women’s Super Smash commenced on 19th December 2023 and concluded on 28th January 2024. A total of 6 teams namely, Wellington Blaze, Northern Brave, Central Hinds, Otago Sparks, Canterbury Magicians, Auckland Hearts, etc participated in the tournament.

The Wellington Blaze led by skipper Amelia Kerr clinched their record 8th title in the Women’s Super Smash by defeating Central Hinds led by skipper Natalie Dodd by 1 run in a rain-curtailed final that turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Team Seedings

The Auckland Hearts women led by skipper Maddy Green had a season to forget as they finished at the bottom of the table with 12 points from 10 games during the league stages. Their couple of victories came against Otago Sparks led by skipper Suzie Bates by 9 runs and Canterbury Magicians led by skipper Frances Mackay by 4 wickets.

The Canterbury Magicians led by skipper Frances Mackay also had a season to forget, much like the Auckland Hearts. They finished fifth on the points table with 12 points to their name from 10 games. Their couple of victories came against Otago Sparks and Auckland Hearts Women. They had a tied game against the Northern Brave and their game against the Central Hinds was abandoned.

The Otago Sparks led by skipper Suzie Bates had a decent campaign in the recently concluded edition of the Women’s Super Smash. They finished 4th on the points table with 20 points to their name from 10 games that included 5 victories and 5 defeats. They missed out on a spot in the top three as Central Hinds pipped them to the 3rd position with 22 points to their name from as many games.

The Central Hinds led by skipper Natalie Dodd had a good campaign as they made it to the knockout stages by sealing third spot with 22 points from 10 games that included 4 victories and 3 losses. They also had one tied game against the Wellington Blaze and a couple of washed-out games against Canterbury Magicians and the Auckland Hearts during their campaign in the league stages. They defeated the Northern Brave led by skipper Eimear Richardson in the Eliminator by 45 runs to book a place in the final with Wellington Blaze. However, they ended up as the runners-up of the tournament with a 1-run defeat in the final against the Wellington Blaze led by skipper Amelia Kerr.

The Northern Brave led by skipper Eimear Richardson also had a good campaign as they finished in the 2nd position on the points table with 22 points from 10 games that included 5 victories and 4 defeats. They also had a tied game against the Canterbury Magicians. They qualified for the knockout stages courtesy of their top-three finish in the league stages. However, they were knocked out in the Eliminator courtesy of their 45-run defeat against the Central Hinds led by skipper Natalie Dodd.

Wellington Blaze led by skipper Amelia Kerr had a wonderful campaign as they finished at the top of the points table during the league stages with 32 points from 10 games including 7 victories, one tied game against the Central Hinds, and one washout game against the Auckland Hearts. Their only defeat in the league stages came against the Northern Brave when they failed to defend the target of 111. They received a direct qualification into the tournament’s final, courtesy of their top-of-the-table finish in the league stages.

The Wellington Blaze led by skipper Amelia Kerr clinched an edge-of-the-seat thriller against the Central Hinds led by skipper Natalie Dodd in the final to claim their record 8th title in the history of the Women’s Super Smash tournament and is the most successful franchise of the league.

Most Runs in Women’s Super Smash 2023-24

The Wellington Blaze skipper led from the front with the bat as she was the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 437 runs to her name at a strike rate of 125.93 and a humongous average of 72.83 in 10 innings. Her best performance with the bat came on 28th December 2023 against the Otago Sparks when she scored 88 runs at an impressive strike rate of 154.38.

Skipper Suzie Bates led from the front with the bat for Otago Sparks as she scored 398 runs at a strike rate of 115.69 and an average of 56.85 in 10 innings. Her best performance with the bat came on 1st January 2024 when she stayed unbeaten on 84 scoring at a strike rate of 135.48 against the Auckland Hearts.

Hollie Armitage was the leading run-scorer with the bat for Central Hinds as she scored 318 runs at a strike rate of 120.91 in 10 innings. Her best performance with the bat came in the Eliminator when she scored 78 runs at a strike rate of 156 against the Northern Brave.

Auckland Hearts skipper Maddy Green was the leading run-scorer with the bat for her side scoring 283 runs at a strike rate of 111.41 in 7 innings. Her best performance with the bat came on 14th January 2024 when she scored an unbeaten 77 runs at a strike rate of 137.50 against Otago Sparks.

Caitlin Gurrey was the leading run-scorer for the Northern Brave as she scored 230 runs at a strike rate of 106.48 in 11 innings.

Top Wicket-takers in Women’s Super Smash 2023-24

Highest Individual score in Women’s Super Smash 2023-24