Central Stags are favorites to win
Bottom-of-the-table Canterbury Kings welcome last season’s runners-up Central Stags to Christchurch in the Super Smash. The match is scheduled for January 13 and the live action begins at 16:00 local time.
TV channels: Sky Sport NZ, Star Sports
Live streaming: Sky Go, Hotstar
Canterbury tend to field first when winning the toss and the Hagley Oval pitch is unlikely to offer any demons batting second either.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for Canterbury Kings vs Central Stags, Super Smash.
Tom Latham returned to face Northern Knights last time out, but was dismissed first ball. Nevertheless, if changes are to be made it will be in the bowling attack not the batting line-up. Henry Shipley has been expensive with the ball so far and Will Williams could replace him.
Kyle Jamieson stole the headlines when the claimed his stunning 6-7 from four overs against Auckland Aces and he has 11 wickets for the tournament so far to lead the bowling charts. Those figures against the Aces were the best in New Zealand T20 cricket and third-best ever in the world.
Cole McConchie has led the way with the bat, meanwhile, scoring 155 runs in four innings including 83 from 52 balls in the defeat to Wellington Firebirds. Chad Bowes scored a half-century last time out, meanwhile – 67 from 46 balls against Northern Knights.
Canterbury have won one of their opening four matches, failing to defend a couple of big scores along the way. Stephen Murdoch hit 54 from 33 balls in the first of three defeats, in a total of 184/5 against Canterbury Kings, but they lost by five wickets.
The game against Auckland Aces followed, in which Kyle Jamieson claimed his 6-7 from four overs to restrict the hosts to 110 at Eden Park. Cole McConchie’s unbeaten 47 led the Kings to a five-wicket win.
Canterbury have lost both matches since, however – they conceded 200/5 against Wellington Firebirds and never got going in reply as they were dismissed for 135 despite McConchie scoring 83. Next up they posted 193/5 against Northern Knights only to lose by two wickets with two balls to spare.
Tom Latham, Chad Bowes, Steve Murdoch, Cole McConchie, Andrew Ellis, Cameron Fletcher, Leo Carter, Will Williams, Kyle Jamieson, Jeremy Benton, Edward Nuttall.
Doug Bracewell is available again after starring for New Zealand in their T20i win against Sri Lanka and in the ODI series too. Seth Rance was an unused member of the T20 squad and he too is set to return for the Central Stags.
Captain Tom Bruce has scored 88*, 8, 28 and 47 in his four innings so far and is the only Central Stags batsman to pass 100 runs so far, scoring 171 in total with a strike rate above 150.
Dean Foxcroft hit 56 in the win against Otago Volts, meanwhile – the Stags’ second half-century of the tournament so far, having only made his debut in the game against Wellington Firebirds.
Before linking up with the New Zealand limited-overs squad, Doug Bracewell claimed 2-19 in his most recent Super Smash appearance. He top-scored with 44 in New Zealand’s T20i win against Sri Lanka last time out, as well as claiming 1-19 from two overs with the ball.
Ben Wheeler has seven wickets so far and an economy rate of 5.86, while Blair Tickner – though more expensive – has taken six wickets.
After being beaten in last year’s final, Central Districts won their opening game this season. Against Northern Knights, Tom Bruce blasted an unbeaten 88 from 52 balls in a five-wicket win, replying to 156/8.
Two defeats followed, after being bowled out for just 107 against Auckland – losing by five wickets – and posting a below-par 136/9 against Wellington Firebirds in an eight-wicket loss. The next game against Otago Volts was then rained off.
Central Stags bounced back in style last time out, however. Dean Foxcroft hit 56 and Tom Bruce 47 in a total of 208/7 against the Volts at Napier, and Ben Wheeler claimed 4-26 to lead the Stags to a 54-run win.
George Worker, Dane Cleaver, Will Young, Tom Bruce, Josh Clarkson, Dean Foxcroft, Doug Bracewell, Blair Tickner, Ben Wheeler, Seth Rance, Felix Murray
Canterbury Kings have won 11 of their 20 previous T20 matches against Central Stags, with eight Stags’ successes and one no result. They each won one game apiece in last season’s competition, including a high-scoring game at Nelson. Jesse Ryder his 84 from 40 balls in a total of 213/5 for the Stags and Cameron Fletcher’s unbeaten 39-ball 74 was just not enough in an eight-run defeat. The other game saw Chad Bowes hit 82 from 55 balls in Canterbury’s 174/5, before Jeremy Benton claimed 3-27 with the ball to restrict the Stags to 157/9.
With Canterbury struggling to defend big scores – and runs expected in Christchurch – Central Stags are favourites at 1.80 with Bet365 and Betfair.
Tom Bruce has shown good form so far for the Stags, and he is 7.50 to be their top batsman in the game, while Chad Bowes is 9.00 – despite doing exactly that when the two teams met last season.
Canterbury Kings’ bowling has been expensive this season and that could prove costly if the runs flow at the Hagley Oval again.
Final Verdict: Back Central Stags to beat Canterbury Kings at 1.80 with Bet365 and Betfair.
Bet online on Top Cricket Betting Sites and apps. Get Best Betting Sign-Up Offers and Exclusive Bonuses with Promo Codes. Deposit now with popular payment methods to bet online.
The most trusted gambling site of the US offers a gamut of cricket betting markets and features. Place your bets now and make huge winnings with the sportsbook.
A host to a store house of online betting features, BetOnline is here to stay for long. Turn your cricket betting cycle towards the best road map with the sportsbook.
Bet on Cricket with Everygame, one of the top USA bookmaker. Join Now and get Up to $750 Sign Up Bonus
SportsBetting.ag betting site is fully equipped with large betting markets, live betting, live streaming features along with a bunch of hefty bonuses and offers. Try SportsBetting.ag website for a unique all-rounder cricket betting fun at one place.
Leave Your Comment
We do our best to give you most accurate & useful match predictions and would love to hear from you. Let us know if we need to improve. Share your own predictions for the matches. Let's talk: