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CLAIM NOWCanterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds, SST20, Today Match Prediction 26 January 2024
Toss Winner - Wellington Firebirds won the toss and choose to bat first
Canterbury Kings beat Wellington Firebirds by 4 wickets
It’s the first-ever NZ T20 league champion Canterbury Kings taking on the four-time winners Wellington Firebrands? Who’ll go through to the final?
- Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls have produced several outstanding partnerships for Canterbury Kings this season between them and with the other batters.
- Logan Van Beek and Nathan Smith are two key players the Firebirds would want to see dominate proceedings in the final with their all-round skills,
- The Canterbury Kings have the upper hand especially in the most recent 5 encounters, edging the Firebirds 3-2.
We are backing Wellington Firebrands to win this match.
| Tournament: | Super Smash, 2023-24 |
| Format: | t20 |
| Venue: | Tbc, Australia, Australia |
| Toss Prediction: | To Bowl |
CANT vs WELL Betting Odds
CANT vs WELL Match Prediction & Analysis
The Kings from Canterbury take on the Firebirds from Wellington at Seddon Park, Hamilton to decide who gets to go through to the final where a tantalising showdown against the mighty Auckland Aces awaits. There’s nothing to separate the Canterbury Kings and Wellington Firebirds on the overall head to head, which is poised slightly in favour of the Kings 18-17.
The tug-of-war rivalry between these two teams was on display in the group stage of this year’s competition, too where the Firebirds won the encounter at the Hagley Oval, and the Kings duly returned the favour by defeating them at the Basin Reserve, Wellington a few days later. It’s a new day to renew their rivalry. And an intriguing high-stakes, winner-takes-all contest at a neutral venue is the best way to settle the stand-off, and that’s what the Super Smash fans will be treated to at the sudden death Elimination final this Friday.
RECENT PERFORMANCE
CANT
W W L W L
CANT
160/9 in 20.0 8
178/4 in 20.0 8.9
138/7 in 20.0 6.9
228/6 in 20.0 11.4
163/7 in 20.0 8.15
184/5 in 20.0 9.2
202/3 in 20.0 10.1
169/9 in 20.0 8.45
WELL
L L L W W
WELL
160/9 in 20.0 8
178/4 in 20.0 8.9
102/10 in 18.3 5.51
105/3 in 15.3 6.77
147/8 in 20.0 7.35
148/4 in 16.5 8.79
163/7 in 20.0 8.15
184/5 in 20.0 9.2
158/7 in 20.0 7.9
160/6 in 19.1 8.35
HEAD TO HEAD
Last 5 Matches
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TEAMS PREVIEW
Canterbury Kings Preview
A 27-run loss against the Aces away from home was not an ideal start to the Kings campaign this season. Rain played spoilsport in two of their next four fixtures, but the Kings put in strong performances winning the other two. At the halfway point, they were level with Auckland Aces at 12 points, with the Firebirds topping the charts. Oddly, their start to the second half of the tournament was not encouraging either, with the Aces handing them a huge defeat, this time at home.
The Aces and the Firebirds pulled away on the points tally, and the Kings had a lot of ground to cover. But they collected three victories in four matches to finish the group stages as the second-best side on the ladder, earning a spot in the elimination final.
Here are a few players to watch. Henry Nicholls has put in some impressive performances consistently, scoring 274 runs at a striker rate of 150 and average 45. Tom Latham and Captain McConchie couldn’t have similar impact but their handy contributions at crucial junctures guided the Kings through to victory. Opener Chad Bowes’s lone brilliance with the bat came against the Northern Brave but he has been kept quiet up top otherwise. His form is a definite concern going into the finals.
Bowling-wise, Canterbury have been good but there is still room for improvement. The numbers of William O’Rourke (12 wickets striking at 13.50) and Zakary Foulkes’ (11 wickets from 10 matches striking at 16.54) look good overall but the rest of the bowlers haven’t been quite able to put the lid on the opposition scoring.
Canterbury Kings Predicted Playing XI:
Chad Bowes, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie (c), Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Rippon, Bevon Jacobs, Zakary Foulkes, Angus McKenzie, Michael Rae, William O’Rourke.
Canterbury Kings Key Players From Previous Game Of Super Smash, 2023-24
Canterbury Kings Actual Playing XI:
Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Chad Bowes, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Mitchell Hay, Bevon Jacobs, Zakary Foulkes, William O'Rourke, Kyle Jamieson
Wellington Firebirds Preview
Wellington Firebirds didn’t lose a game until their fourth fixture, which was against table-toppers Auckland Aces. They made a comeback to win the next two games, including a 21-run victory over Canterbury Kings at Christchurch. After 7 games in the group stages, they were the leaders of the table with 22 points and were all set to finish among the top 2.They lost all three remaining fixtures (two of which came against lower-ranked teams) with no points added to their tally. Because of their superior NRR over the Central Districts, they finished third and sealed a berth in the eliminator final.
They’ll now have to go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to break their 3-match losing streak. They’ve got a good-looking squad that can get the job done against the Kings in the final. Logan Van Beek, the big Dutch allrounder, is the pick of the bowlers with 14 wickets at 13.50 SR, followed by Peter Younghusband who has troubled batsmen with his leg spin with 13 scalps at 13.84 SR. Nathan Smith’s medium pace has paid off big time with the seamer’s 12 wickets at 17 SR putting him at the third in the leading wicket takers list for Wellington.
Tim Robertson’s absence in the top order has clearly thrown the Wellington’s batting off balance. In the last three matches that they lost on the bounce, their experiment with trying new opening combinations misfired big time. They lost wickets early in the powerplay and failed to get their scoreboard ticking over taking advantage of the fielding restrictions. It’d be interesting to see what combination they go for in this big final.
Wellington Firebirds Predicted Playing XI:
Gareth Severin, Nick Kelly (c), Muhammad Abbas, Michael Bracewell, Troy Johnson, Callum McLachlan (wk), Nathan Smith, Logan van Beek, Adam Milne, Peter Younghusband, Ben Sears.
Wellington Firebirds Key Players From Previous Game Of Super Smash, 2023-24
Wellington Firebirds Actual Playing XI:
Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Gareth Severin, Nick Kelly, Muhammad Arslan Abbas, Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Logan van Beek, Adam Milne, Peter Younghusband, Ben Sears
PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS
Weather Conditions
If the forecast is anything to go by, we are in for a sunny day in general but the conditions in the afternoon will be a little cloudy with winds picking up. The pitch here is usually fine for batting and if the groundsman serves up another road here, it could turn out to be a run fest.
CANT vs WELL Pitch Report
The match will be played at Seddon Park, a neutral venue where both teams have an ordinary win record. The Firebirds have won 6 and lost 6 here, whereas the Kings have lost more than they’ve won here (7 losses as opposed to 6 wins). No team has a clear advantage playing the final here.
Toss: To Bowl
In helpful batting conditions here, teams mostly opt to field first. Chasing a par or an above par score is quite possible here, but a target over 200 could has often proved out of reach for teams with decent batting units.
CANT vs WELL
Winning Prediction
The Wellington Firebirds have gone into a slump losing three back to back games. But no other team has been more successful in knock out games like the Firebrands, and for that reason, we think they’ll knock out the Canterbury Kings.
We are backing Wellington Firebrands to win this match.
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