• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Super Smash 2021 22 Wellington Firebirds Vs Northern Knights Match 30 Preview Predictions Fantasy Xi

Super Smash 2021-22 | Wellington Firebirds vs Northern Knights | Match 30 Preview, Predictions, Fantasy XI

Yes, indeed we have reached the last match of the league stage in the 2021-22 season's Super Smash competition. The two teams who are already qualified for the playoffs are going head-to-head against each other on January 24 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Yes, we are talking about Wellington Firebirds and Northern Knights. This will be the 30th match in the tournament.

Wellington is in third place with 20 points from 9 matches and Northern Knights are the table toppers with 30 points from the same number of matches as their opponents.  

Recently, in the 24th match, these two have met each other. This was a low-scoring affair. Wellington was crushed down by Northern Knights who won the match by a comfortable margin of 6 wickets.

Wellington is having a see-saw of a season. They have won 5 out of 9 matches and will play the eliminator on January 27, 2022, against Canterbury Kings. Though they have qualified for the eliminator they will not take this game lightly as many parts of the game can be improved. 

Since the match is against the strongest team in the competition they have to grind hard till the very last moment but they have the squad to do that. With the likes of Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Jimmy Neesham, Tom Blundell, and Rachin Ravindra in the squad they can push the opposition to the extreme.  

Northern Knights, on the other hand, don't have many headaches heading into this. They have been on the winning side from the last 7 matches and will look to continue the same. They have the perfect side to do what is required in a match. They have earned the rights to host the finale on their home ground which will take place on January 29, 2022, at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.

They have a balanced squad that covers almost all the bases. They will go with an unchanged squad from their previous game. Knights have the services of Tim Seifert, Jeet Raval, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult. The names don't stop here as their entire squad is in top gear.  

So, then it should be an intriguing contest as it's a near warm-up match for these two before the playoffs rather than a league match.   

Match Details

Wellington Firebirds vs Northern Knights - 30th Match

Date and Time: January 24, 2022, 7:10 AM IST

Venue: Basin Reserve, Wellington

Broadcast: Fan Code

Pitch Report

The Basin Reserve pitch will be a balanced one, both for batters and bowlers. The average score batting first here is around 160. Toss doesn’t really matter here as both batting first and bowling first yields good results.

Weather Conditions

According to forecasts, there will be no rain and will be sunny throughout the match.  

Probable Playing XI

Wellington Firebirds

Finn Allen (wk), Devon Conway, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell (c), Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Logan van Beek, Hamish Bennett, Peter Younghusband, Ben Sears.

Northern Knights

Tim Seifert (wk), Katene Clarke, Jeet Raval (c), Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Cooper, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Anurag Verma, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.

 CE Fantasy XI

Katene Clarke, Jeet Raval, Colin de Grandhomme, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Hamish Bennett

Captain- Tim Seifert

 Vice-Captain- Devon Conway

Discover more
Top Stories
news

AFG vs NED | 2nd ODI: Afghans write the same script of the Dutch demise, take unassailable lead

It was the same old script for the Netherlands as they lost the second game in a row to concede an unassailable lead to Afghanistan in the three-match ODI series going on between the two teams in Doha, Qatar. The series is part of the CWC Super League, works as the qualifying league for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Much like the first game, Afghanistan weaved a web of spin and even after a fighting knock or lone battle from Scott Edwards with the bat, the Dutch team remained very far away from the target of 238 runs. Edwards and Musa Ahmed started cautiously and added 21 for the opening wicket before Ahmed was removed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Coilin Ackermann followed suit and soon the Dutch were 35-2 in the ninth over. Bas de Leede, who came to bat number four did put up a good resistance, but his innings was way too slow for the liking of even an ODI game. He added 90 for the third wicket alongside Edwards but took 83 balls for his knock of 34 runs, striking at just 40. In fact, the partnership turned out to be a bane in the larger context of the game as the players coming after the fall of de Leede were always under the pressure of scoring at more than run a ball. Edwards, who hit yet another fifty and improved his career-best once again, missed out on an opportunity to score his first hundred as he got out for 86 off 120 balls. With the fall of his wicket, the fourth overall of the team at 147 with 91 required from 66 balls, the chances of a Dutch comeback also dwindled to its lowest before falling flat completely. The team was eventually bowed out for 189, a three-run improvement from the previous game, losing the match by 48 runs and eventually losing the series too. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss and deciding t bat first, Afghanistan rode on the back of a brilliant century by Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The opening batter scored 103 off 127 balls and was helped by important innings of 54 from captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and 35 from Rahmat Shah to take the team to 237-6 eventually. The third and final game of the series will be played on Tuesday, January 25 at the same venue. No team would take that game lightly as it contains important 10 points for the Super League.

news

BCB President confirms Tamim won’t be playing T20Is for Bangladesh any soon

The dynamic and experienced Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal who has hit back to back to back half-centuries in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League 2022, has said that he is not willing to make a comeback in the T20 internationals any time soon. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan confirmed that in his interaction with the press. "Tamim has played well and he is always good. When I spoke with him last time you can say I requested him to make a return into T20Is,” Nazmul was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “I have spoken with him on the telephone and he just said 'please don't push me because if you push me naturally I will have to return but I don't want to play in this format'. After listening to this I felt there is no point asking him (to reconsider his decision) because if someone does not want to play any format there is no point forcing him to play,'' the board president added. Tamim last played a T20I for Bangladesh in March 2020 against Zimbabwe in Dhaka, so it has been almost two years now that he played in the shortest format for the Tigers. In total, Iqbal has played 78 T20Is and scored 1758 runs in them with one century and three fifties to his name in that format for Bangladesh. Though Tamim has officially not retired from the shortest format internationally, so there might be chances that he returns maybe after a prolific BPL with the bat and therefore wouldn't have wanted to jinx it.

news

BBL 11 | Strikers clinch thriller against Thunder, continue their fairy tale run towards final

Adelaide Strikers, which won five of its last six games to make it to the finals of the Big Bash League 2021-22 and continued that run with a win in the Eliminator against Hobart Hurricanes have moved one step and continued their fairy tale run by defeating Sydney Thunder in the Knockout to advance to the Challenger, just one step short of a place in the title decider. The Strikers clinched a thriller at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as they defended 14 runs in the last over even as Thunder had more than five of their wickets intact. Chasing a target of 185, the Sydney team tried its best to get as close as possible even as it lost two of its best batters in Alex Hales and Usman Khawaja in the first seven overs itself. But not losing the plot, Jason Sangha and Alex Ross continued to follow the target at a good rate and reached within the striking distance with a 90 run stand for the third wicket. With 39 required from 23 balls, it was 60-40 in favour of the Thunder when Sangha was dismissed by skipper and Strikers legend Peter Sidlle. That wicket of Sangha became the turning point in the game as just after that wicket, the newcomer Sams too was removed and the Thunder needed 35 from the last two overs, still very much gettable. However, the 19th over totally shifted the momentum in Strikers’ favours as even in the 18th, 12 runs came and 23 was needed from the last two. In the 19th over, Siddle gave away only nine runs and forced Thunder to get 14 from the last. The last over was bowled brilliantly by Harry Conway who even after going for four on the second ball, bowled three dot deliveries on a trot, two of which also fetched him crucial wickets of Ross and Ben Cutting, the two men entrusted with the duties to win the game for their team. Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss and deciding to bat first, the Strikers got off to a flyer, hitting 40 runs in the first four overs only. Even as Alex Carey got out, Matthew Short, the other opener continued his attacking play and added 50 in 37 balls with Ian Cockbain before getting out for 39. Though Short got out, Cockbain continued his onslaught and it was his innings of 65 off 38 balls that propelled the Strikers to reach 184-6 in their 20 overs. The Strikers would now face yet another team from Sydney as they play the Sixers in the Challenger on January 26, which will determine the team that will face Perth Scorchers in the final on January 28.