Christchurch’s Hagley Oval will stage both men’s and women’s Super Smash elimination and grand finals at the end of January, bringing the leading sides together for a three-day decider much as Basin Reserve did last summer.
The 2025–26 Super Smash begins on Boxing Day and runs for 32 days, squeezing in 64 matches. Northern Brave host Auckland’s double-header at Seddon Park to get things moving, while the final block in Christchurch wraps everything up.
New Zealand Cricket called last season “a watershed one for Super Smash”, pointing to more than a million viewers on free-to-air TVNZ and 7.3 million digital views. The hope, clearly, is to push those numbers again.
Tom Bruce, Central Districts captain and reigning men’s player of the year, reckons the standard forces players to keep tweaking. “You’ve got BLACKCAPS and WHITE FERNS scattered across the teams along with plenty of up and coming stars pushing for their chance at the next level,” he said. “With only six teams in the competition, you have to constantly be thinking about evolving your game as you often play similar squads a few times a season.
“You’re forced to progress your game as individuals and as a team, otherwise players will figure you out pretty quickly. It’s also great for players to get used to playing in front of a large crowd and a pretty substantial TV audience too.
“If they can get a taste of playing in that context, then once they make the step up to BLACKCAPS or WHITE FERNS, they already have some invaluable experience playing in that sort of environment.”
Bruce’s Stags are the defending men’s champions; their women’s counterparts, the Hinds, will also fancy another tilt. Canterbury’s men, beaten finalists in January, return to Hagley on New Year’s Day to meet Central again. They have not lifted the T20 trophy in two decades despite five near-misses, a stat that nags around the group.
Local administrators expect the finals weekend to give the ground – and the region – a lift. Suzanne Pearce, executive manager of the Canterbury Cricket Trust, was upbeat. “We think we have the best ground in New Zealand and it’s a huge vote of confidence in the venue, the city and the cricket community here in Christchurch, so we’re very pleased,” she said.
“Our crowds the past few seasons are testament to how loyal the fans are here. It’s a big win, not only for the city but the wider Canterbury region. It’s a chance for our fans to see the best players in the country play some awesome cricket and for those young players coming through to be inspired.
“There is something really special about having a world-class international cricket ground in the middle of our city park. You look one way and see the southern alps and see the city and the port hills at the other end.”
Off the park, KFC’s popular “6’s for Surf” returns: the sponsor will again donate NZ$100 to Surf Lifesaving New Zealand for every six struck – $38,100 went their way last summer. Expect the big hitters to oblige.
A tidy fixture list, a high-profile finals venue and a few tweaks around the edges – it’s not reinventing the wheel, but the Super Smash rarely needs to. A quick-fire domestic T20, six tightly matched teams and a showpiece in Christchurch. That should do the trick.
