Northern Brave's men and women have a round in hand in the NZ Super Smash and they'll need it.

Northern will be playing Canterbury at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Tuesday, January 9, and returning to Mount Maunganui to play against Auckland at Bay Oval on Friday, January 12.

Northern are the men's defending champions but remain anchored to the foot of that table after four games so far this season, after going down to the Volts by eight wickets on Saturday.

Brave's women meanwhile sit alongside the Auckland Hearts on four points at the wrong end of the women's ladder, having likewise been uncomfortably beaten on Saturday.

Sparks captain Suzie Bates continued her ripper run of form with another unbeaten 41* at run-a-ball pace on Saturday, strengthening her position as the top individual runscorer of the comp with support from fellow opener Bella James (39 off 32) as they made light work of the chase.

Another southern veteran in Jacob Duffy had a solid day in the men's game, the Brave's personal nemesis with his scorching haul of 4/19 as well as clasping three catches.

Duffy clocked up his 100th T20 match (all teams) earlier this season and now stands on the doorstep of 100 T20 wickets for the Volts, with 97 career victims from 93 games in the blue and gold.

BLACKCAPS Mitch Santner (49) and Tim Seifert (37) were the only players to give their side a chance as Brave set a total of 93/6 in the allotted 15 overs - never an easy task in damp weather, but the Volts responded with an unbeaten 55* from captain Dean Foxcroft and insolent unbeaten 53* off just 30 balls, including five sixes, from the showman Glenn Phillips and that was that.

Southerners have been the big movers in the Dream11 Super Smash so far this year with the busy Otago Volts and Sparks charging up their respective league ladders.

Former WHITE FERN Felicity Robertson (née Leydon-Davis) was one of the stars of the show in Hamilton on Saturday with a simply stunning one-handed catch, and that wasn't even her first speccy of this variety in the league this season.

To do it once in a summer is sublime. Twice? Outrageous.

The first is a one-handed screamer just inside the boundary on Boxing Day, December 26 versus the Canterbury Magicians, the victim Nat Cox caught off Hayley Jensen.

WHAT A CATCH. Felicity Robertson, how good!@SuperSmashNZ pic.twitter.com/vXka6v9DYw

— Otago Cricket (@OtagoCricket) December 26, 2023

Saturday's catch, one-handed, running and sliding to dismiss her dangerous former Northern teammate Caitlin Gurrey, off Eden Carson.

One hand SCREAMER @OtagoSparks' Felicity Robertson takes a superb catch to break the partnership between Gurrey and Watkin. @TVNZ's @GuyHeveldt was a big fan of this one! Follow play LIVE on @TVNZ+ and DUKE. Live scoring | https://t.co/dlc5oJBCAz #SuperSmashNZ pic.twitter.com/4aqrC8YONR

— Dream11 Super Smash (@SuperSmashNZ) January 6, 2024

Brushing aside Northern Brave women in the rain-reduced game in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, the Sparks have now joined the unbeaten Central Hinds and Wellington Blaze in the top three, all those sides with three wins, while the Otago Volts have rebounded from their horror all-time low total of 47 all out just after Christmas to clamber above the weather-becalmed Central Stags into fourth spot.

Only the top three teams in both the men's and women's competitions will progress to finals at the end of the double round robin and, with most teams now having completed at least half their games, the heat is on to rise to the right end of the table.

The Volts and Sparks have played one more round (six of the 10) than most of their adversaries which raises the stakes when they travel to Napier later this week to meet the Central Stags and Hinds in Napier.

Before then, the Canterbury Kings and Magicians were hoping for more action on Sunday at Hagley Oval against Auckland than was possible after wet weather ruined both scheduled games against Central on Saturday.

It's a busy week for the Canterbury sides at their home venue, who will also host the Northern and Wellington teams at their home venue.

The table-topping Central Hinds, dead last in last summer's competition, now remain the only undefeated side (men's or women's) in this year's show, and will take the stage again this Monday in Napier where they will play under the lights of McLean Park for the first time in a must-see, top-of-the-table clash with Melie Kerr's Wellington Blaze.

Matches this week