Northern Knights are favorites to win
Central Stags defeated Auckland Aces by 44 runs in the Preliminary Final at the Eden Park to set up the ultimate showdown against the Knights. The final match of the Super Smash 2018-19 will be played on February 17 at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. Live telecast of the game is scheduled to begin at 4:10 PM local time.
TV channels: Star Sports, Sky Sport NZ
Live Streaming: Bet365, Hotstar, Sky Go
The Seddon Park has hosted three matches this Super Smash season and all three of those have been won by the side batting first. Toss, therefore, is going to be an important factor here and the team that wins it on Sunday will probably want to bat first.
Read on for team previews, betting odds, betting tips and predictions for Knights vs Central Stags, Super Smash 2018-19 final match...
Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn and Ish Sodhi missed the Knights' last game against Otago Volts due to international commitments but they are all set to return for the Sunday's final against the Central Stags. They will be replacing Joe Carter, Daniel Flynn, Zak Gibson and Tarun Nethula in the playing eleven. Tim Seifert will probably open the batting for the Knights alongside Nick Kelly with skipper Dean Brownlie coming in next at number three.
Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Dean Brownlie and Brett Hampton are the key figures in the Knight's batting line-up. Mitchell is amongst the tournament's top five batsmen with 318 runs. He and Hampton both struck blazing half-centuries last time against the Stags and they will be expected to repeat those heroics again. Seifert smashed a fifty against the Stags at the Bay Oval last year and he also looked impressive in the T20Is against India. Corey Anderson is another vital cog in the side who can make an impact with both bat and ball. Neil Wagner, Scott Kuggeleijn and Ish Sodhi are the biggest threats in this bowling group and the Knights will want them to be at their best on Sunday. Kuggeleijn has been their most successful bowler with 13 wickets in 8 matches which includes a four-wicket haul against Auckland. The pacer has taken four wickets against the Stags this season and he is more likely to trouble them the most.
The Knights will be hosting the final at their home ground as they finished table toppers at the end of the league round with seven wins and three defeats from ten matches. They have faced defeats in their last two games against Auckland Aces and Otago Volts respectively after having won six on the trot. There were no major contributions from their lower middle-order last time against the Volts and that cost them the game.
Nick Kelly, Tim Seifert (wk), Dean Brownlie (c), Brett Hampton, Corey Anderson, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn, PD Bocock (wk), Ish Sodhi, Kyle Abbott, Neil Wagner
Central Stags are sweating over the fitness of batsman Josh Clarkson and premier pace bowler Blair Tickner as they head into the Super Smash final. Both were ruled out with injuries ahead of the preliminary final against Auckland Aces and they are not expected to recover fully by Sunday considering the extent of their injuries. While Clarkson was replaced by allrounder Kieran Noema-Barnett in the last game, Doug Bracewell was called in as a replacement for Tickner.
Tom Bruce and Will Young have been the best batsmen for Central Stags this Super Smash season. Both are amongst the tournament's leading run-getters with 343 and 320 runs respectively. While Bruce smashed an unbeaten 88 in one of the reverse encounters, Young is coming off a 54-ball 83 against Auckland in the Preliminary Final. Dean Foxcroft has cracked three half-centuries this season and the team will be hoping for one more from him in this big final. Seth Rance, Ajaz Patel and Ben Wheeler have been the go-to men for the Stags with the ball. Rance has taken nine wickets in seven matches and he will be the team's best bet with the new ball. Patel too has taken as many wickets this season and the left-arm spinner will have a big role to play in the middle overs. Wheeler had earlier claimed a four-fer against Otago and the Stags will be hoping for a similar performance from him.
Central Stags finished third in the standings at the end of the league stage with five wins and four losses from ten matches. They are coming off a comprehensive 44-run victory over Auckland Aces in the Preliminary Final at the Eden Park. Their batsmen set up the game for them with a good performance as the team posted a very challengingtotal of 219/4 in their 20 overs. The Stags have now won five of their last seven matches.
George Worker, Will Young, Dean Foxcroft, Tom Bruce (c), Dane Cleaver (wk), Doug Bracewell, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Ben Wheeler, Adam Milne, Seth Rance, Ajaz Patel
Central Stags and Knights have played 24 completed matches against each other in the New Zealand domestic twenty20 tournaments. The latter is leading the scoreline 14-10.
The Knights have beaten Central Stags thrice in their last four encounters in the twenty-over format. Both teams, however, won once each in the two matches that were played between them this season.
Central Stags won the first clash of the season at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui by five wickets before the Knights avenged their defeat with a massive 131-run win at the McLean Park in Napier.
Matches Played: 25; Knights Won: 14; Central Stags Won: 10; NR: 1
The Knights begin as favorites to win the final match of the Super Smash 2018-19 at odds of 1.80 on Bet365 while Central Stags find themselves as the underdogs with the same bookmaker at a higher price of 2. Betfair, however, is offering the same price of 1.05 on both the teams to win this final game.
The Knights will look to secure back-to-back titles in what will be a repeat of the 2017-18 Super Smash final while the Stags will look to avenge their defeat from last time. The Stags are coming into this match having won five of their last seven matches while the Knights suffered defeats in their last two matches. However, the Knights have the home advantage in their favor. They have won all their three matches played at this ground this season and they blew away the Stags here in last year's final. Moreover, the Stags are likely to be without their key fast bowler Blair Tickner and batsman Josh Clarkson who are currently nursing injuries while the Knights have received a big boost with the return of Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Scott Kuggeleijn and Daryl Mitchell. The hosts have a strong record at Hamilton and we feel they have an excellent opportunity to claim their second successive Super Smash title.
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