Super Smash 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Central Stags vs Northern Brave

Central Stags thumped Northern Brave men’s team to register their first win of the competition in match No.6 of the Super Smash 2023 on Wednesday, December 27, at the Fitzherbert Park in Palmerston North.

Reeling at the bottom of the points table ahead of this game, the Central Stags were desperate for victory. After today's match, they are placed in third position with a win and a loss, along with four points and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.03.

On the other hand, Northern Brave have slipped to fourth position even though they have the same number of points as the Stags. The Stags have an NRR of 0.03, while the Brave have a -0.03 NRR.

Wellington Firebirds and Auckland Aces lead the charts, with both teams having won one game and one match finishing without a result. Wellington occupy the pole position with a superior NRR of 3.70 and Aces are placed second with a NRR of 1.40.

Canterbury Kings and Otago Volts are placed at the bottom side of the points table. Both teams are in search of their first win, though they aren’t without any points. The match between Canterbury and Otago was abandoned on Tuesday (December 26), and hence, they shared the four points (two each).

Doug Bracewell’s carnage guides Central Stags to first win in Super Smash 2023

Central Stags were asked to bat after losing the toss. They were reduced to 95 for 4 in the 13th over before Doug Bracewell joined forces with Dane Cleaver and the duo forged 79-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Bracewell played wrecker-in-chief, pulverising the Northern Brave bowling unit with his intensity. The right-handed batter hammered 11 boundaries and five sixes in his 33-ball 93 destructive knock, striking astonishingly at 281.82 to power the Stags to 206 for 5. The Stags added 112 runs in the last seven overs.

In response, Northern Brave were bundled out for 150 in 19.2 overs. Bracewell didn’t bowl, but Jayden Lennox’s 4 for 15 from four overs was more than enough in helping the Stags defend their gargantuan total. Blair Tickner, Bevan Small and Tom Bruce also picked up two wickets apiece in a clinical bowling show by the Stags.