The Men’s Super Smash 2022-23, New Zealand’s premier 20-over domestic competition, got underway on December 23, 2022, with a rain-curtailed 14-overs-per-side match between last year’s finalists Northern Brave and Canterbury Kings with the latter winning convincingly by nine wickets.
Auckland Aces and Wellington Firebirds, who are the most successful teams in Super Smash T20 history, also got off to winning starts.
While Wellington Firebirds edged past Otago Volts by eight runs in their opening fixture, Auckland Aces got their campaign up and running with a four-wicket victory over last season’s runners-up Canterbury Kings.
The 2022-23 season saw its first high-scoring encounter in the fourth match itself, with Wellington Firebirds’ 214/6 against Central Stags accounting for the maiden 200-plus total in the ongoing season. The nail-biting thriller finished in Wellington’s favour by two runs.
A total of six teams, namely Northern Brave, Canterbury Kings, Central Stags, Wellington Firebirds, Otago Volts and Auckland Aces are battling it out to win the 18th edition of the T20 cricket tournament.
In all, 32 matches will be played at multiple venues across the country. There are as many as 30 league stage matches as well as one Eliminator and the final on February 11, 2023.
Men's Super Smash 2022-23 points table format
The Men's Super Smash 2022-23 follows a double round-robin format during the league phase.
Each team is awarded four points for a win and two for a tie or no result. If two or more teams are tied on points, the Net Run Rate will come into play with the franchise that has a superior NRR getting positioned higher in the standings.
At the end of the 30 league matches, the leaders of the Men's Super Smash 2022-23 points table will directly qualify for the final whereas the second and third-placed teams will lock horns in the Eliminator that’s slated for February 9, 2023.
The winner of the Eliminator will square off against the first-placed team from the league stage in the final, which will take place on February 11, 2023.
Men's Super Smash 2022-23 points table
| Position | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied / No result | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Canterbury Kings | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 24 | +0.431 |
| 2 | Otago Volts | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 24 | -0.059 |
| 3 | Northern Districts | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 22 | +0.381 |
| 4 | Central Stags | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 18 | -0.299 |
| 5 | Wellington Firebirds | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 16 | +0.205 |
| 6 | Auckland Aces | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 16 | -0.658 |
Photo credit: Alamy
