An unbeaten 88 off 62 balls from Northern Brave’s Tim Seifert saw the side through to an unassailable lead atop the Super Smash standings after an emphatic eight-wicket win over second-placed Canterbury Kings at Hagley Oval in Christchurch last night.
The Brave are now guaranteed a home final.
Canterbury had earlier reached a creditable 173 for 6 in their twenty overs, getting off to a flyer with strong contributions from Chad Bowes (58 from 40 balls), Tom Latham (34 from 22 balls) and Daryl Mitchell 31 from 19 balls).
With the ball, Mitch Santner (two for 34) and Trent Boult (two for 37) picked up two wickets apiece, and off-spinner Joe Walker (one for 29) was his usual economical self.
Seifert struck seven fours and a six to superbly pace the chase.
The wicketkeeper batsman was aptly supported by Jeet Raval (36 from 22 balls) and Katene Clarke (31 from 23), and the Brave reached their target with five balls to spare with a six from Colin de Grandhomme.
In the women’s game, Canterbury’s Amy Satterthwaite stole the show with a phenomenal 114, the second-highest score ever in New Zealand women’s domestic twenty20 cricket.
Northern offered a strong fight but eventually fell short of Canterbury’s 172 for 4 by 24 runs.
Northern now heads to the capital to take on the Firebirds and Blaze in another double header on Monday.
