Stags go back to back

The Stags are on the charge.

Three days after blasting past the Volts in Napier, the Stags backed up in Christchurch to polish off the Kings by six wickets in the men’s Twenty20 Super Smash yesterday.

It saw last year’s beaten finalists move up to second on the ladder after six of the 10 rounds, six points behind defending champions the Knights who look awfully hard to topple again after a 12-run win over the Firebirds in Wellington on Saturday.

Again the quicks did the job for the Stags who welcomed back Friday’s Black Caps man of the match Doug Bracewell and restricted the Kings to just 112-8 amid the rain showers at Hagley Oval.

The allrounder took a tidy 1-17 off his four overs as the towering figure of Blair Tickner – last year’s top wicket-taker – snared 3-15 and Seth Rance backed him up with 2-19 after sitting out Friday’s T20 against Sri Lanka in Auckland.

The Kings’ innings never got going as they slumped to 41-6, after skipper Cole McConchie ❚

❚ off 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 49, Nick Kelly 45; Ollie Newton 3-26, Jeetan Patel 2-27) beat

off 20 overs (Adam Hose 52, Tom Blundell 38; Mitchell 2-19, Kyle Abbott 2-19, Corey Anderson 2-22) by 12 runs

❚ Sunday:

❚ In Dunedin: Auckland Aces 117-1 off 11 overs (Martin Guptill 62no, Glenn Phillips 43no) v

– match abandoned

Astle 25; Blair Tickner 3-15, Seth Rance 2-19) lost to Central Stags 113-4 off 16.5 overs (Tom Bruce 45no, Will Young 33; Kyle Jamieson 2-20) by six wickets. Standings: Knights 20 points (6 matches), Stags 14 (6), Volts 12 (6), Firebirds 10 (6), Aces 8 (5), Kings 4 (5).

said it was his preference for them to bat first.

Returning Black Cap Tom Latham (18 off 17) was one of Tickner’s victims while legspinner Todd Astle made a welcome return from injury as he bids for a World Cup spot.

Astle’s 25 off 27 was top score for the last-placed Kings in a meek batting effort, as the Stags held their catches superbly with Dean Foxcroft taking three of their seven grabs.

Astle (1-21) and Kyle Jamieson (2-20) were both good with the ball and the Stags didn’t find it easy with the bat, either, chasing an elementary total.

Captain Tom Bruce steadied the ship with a second handy knock in three days, ending 45 not out off 31 balls to avert any heart flutters for the visitors.

In Dunedin, rain denied the fifth-placed Aces a chance to make a move, with returning Black Cap Martin Guptill doused in full flight.

Guptill hit three sixes in his unbeaten 62 off 37 balls against the Volts before rain ended the contest at 117-1 off 11 overs.

Guptill and fellow international Glenn Phillips (43 off 23) blasted 107 off 9.4 overs for the second wicket after the early departure of Colin Munro for nine, bowled by Jacob Duffy.

The pace-setting Knights can extend their lead on Wednesday night when they host the struggling Kings in Hamilton. women’s boundaries with two of her sixes, but her innings of 45 off 35 balls was not enough for the Central Hinds to chase down Canterbury’s total of 168-5, losing by 64 runs.

Mackay’s innings, which saw 64 of her runs scored in boundaries, boosted her T20 Super Smash record this season to 356 runs at an average of 89 and strike rate of 110. Her previous best career high score was 64 before yesterday’s knock.

In the women’s 50-over competition she’s been even more prolific. In just six innings she’s scored three centuries and a top score of 140 in compiling 452 runs at 90.40.

The other match looked destined to be rained off before the skies finally cleared at University Oval in Dunedin, allowing the Auckland Hearts to chase a final-qualifying win in a six-over match against the Otago Sparks.

They scored 50-5 from their six overs thanks to 20 off 11 balls from Hearts skipper Maddy Green, while Otago bowler Ella Brown took 2-7 from her one over.

But Otago spoiled the party, with English international Alice Davidson-Richards scoring an unbeaten 25 off 18 balls to see her side home by nine wickets.

That result helped the Magicians qualify for Sunday’s final against the Wellington Blaze, which will be played at the pre-determined venue of Eden Park in Auckland after the men’s Super Smash game between the Auckland Aces and the Otago Volts.

Saturday: In Wellington: Knights 157-7

Wellington Firebirds 145-6

Otago Volts ❚ In Christchurch: Canterbury Kings 112-8 off 20 overs (Todd