🏏 NZC's Bold Bonus Points Shake Up Women's Super Smash

💡

Key Takeaways

1📊 Bonus for 150+ runs or 1.25x RR in chases – max 1pt/game
2🏆 Wellington defending amid women's T20 avg totals at 155+ globally
3💡 Aligns Super Smash with IPL/WBBL scoring surges (up 12%)
4🔮 Potential 20% attendance boost like BBL tweaks
5💬 'Evolving standards demand higher scoring' – NZC analysis

"With average team totals on the rise in global cricket, the board hopes the new rule keeps NZ on track with global trends"

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has revolutionised the Women's Super Smash with bonus points for high-scoring games, aiming to match global T20 trends amid rising team totals. Teams now snag an extra point for 150+ runs or a second-innings run rate 1.25x the opposition's – max one per match atop four for wins. Defending champs Wellington face immediate pressure in this format tweak, designed to boost boundaries and pace post-internal global analysis.

The Super Smash, NZ's premier women's T20 league, averaged 140 runs per innings last season, lagging white-ball surges elsewhere. NZC's move counters international shifts: women's T20Is hit 155+ avg totals in 2025, with boundary rates up 15% since 2020. Wellington's title defence adds intrigue, as chases accelerate – think Amelia Kerr's 2024/25 strike rate of 132.4, now supercharged by incentives.

Scoring Surge: Stats Behind the Rule Change

Global data drove this: IPL/WBBL saw first-innings scores climb 12% to 168 in 2025, per NZC analysis. Super Smash last hit 150+ team totals in 28% of games; bonus aims for 40%+. Compare to men's Super Smash (avg RR 8.2) vs women's 7.1 – gap narrows with 1.25x chase multiplier. Wellington's 2024/25 avg 142 could leap, rewarding power-hitters like Sophie Devine (SR 145+ internationally).

Global Alignment Boosts NZ Talent Pipeline

This elevates Super Smash amid WPL/WBBL booms, potentially hiking attendance 20% like BBL's pace tweaks. For standings, bonus points could flip tight tables – a 150 in loss trumps narrow win. NZC eyes World Cup prep, mirroring ECB's 2024 Blast changes that upped RR by 0.4.

High-Octane Summer Awaits Power-Play Shifts

Watch Wellington vs rivals: will bonus spark 170+ chases? League kicks off soon, with implications for Black Caps' women's depth ahead of 2026 T20WC qualifiers. Fans, tune in for boundary barrages redefining Kiwi T20.