Women's Super Smash 2023-24 Points Table: Updated standings after Auckland Hearts vs Northern Brave Women, Match 28

Auckland Hearts faced Northern Brave Women in the 28th match of the Women’s Super Smash 2023-24 at the Eden Park Outer Oval in Auckland on Saturday, January 20. Northern Brave won the match by 39 runs.

Wellington Blaze are still atop the points table with six wins in nine matches and a net run rate (NRR) of +0.82. Central Hinds have played all their 10 matches and won four of them. They are placed second on the points tally with an NRR of -0.14.

Otago Sparks have five wins in nine matches and are third in the rankings. They have an NRR of -0.11. Northern Brave Women have retained their position in fourth place after their win and have an NRR of +0.11.

Canterbury Magicians and Auckland Hearts are in the last two places. They have won two matches each and have an NRR of +0.23 and -0.87, respectively.

Ranks	Teams	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Points	NRR
1	Wellington Blaze	9	6	1	1	1	28	0.82
2	Central Hinds	10	4	2	1	2	22	0.05
3	Otago Sparks	9	5	4	0	0	16	-0.29
4	Northern Brave Women	9	4	4	1	0	18	0.11
5	Canterbury Magicians	9	2	5	1	1	12	0.23
6	Auckland Hearts	10	2	6	0	2	12	-0.87

---

Marama Downes' exceptional spell downs Auckland

Northern Brave won the toss against Auckland and elected to bat. They lost the first two wickets for just 18 runs. The middle order did a fine job of rescuing the team. Caitlin Gurrey and Nensi Patel added 58 runs for the third wicket.

Marina Lamplough and Eimear Richardson played a knock of 20-plus runs each. They all helped Northern Brave post a total of 145 runs for the loss of nine wickets.

Josie Penfold was the pick of the bowlers for Auckland and took three wickets for 31 runs in four overs. Amie Hucker and Fran Jonas picked two wickets each, while Molly Penfold and Anna Browning had one wicket apiece to their name.

Auckland lost their first three wickets for just 13 runs and another one when they reached 41 runs. Prue Catton played a crucial knock of 53 runs off 44 deliveries before getting dismissed. She didn’t get decent support from the other end.

Auckland were bundled out for 106 runs in 19.2 overs and lost the match by 39 runs. Marama Downes was the most successful bowler for Northern Brave and became only the second bowler to take a fifer this season. She took five wickets for 12 runs in 3.2 overs.