A breakout innings from Llew Johnson has given the Otago Volts a superb start to the Twenty20 Super Smash competition, leading his side to victory over the Auckland Aces.
The 20-year-old — who turned heads with an unbeaten 256* in a club match at the start of this season, thoughtto be an all-time Dunedin premier grade record — was playing just his fourth Super Smash game, and his first since early 2018 when he was tossed in as a raw teenager for three single-figure scores.
Today he belted 72 off just 44 balls before being caught in the final over. The number four sent most of his seven sixes hurtling over the leg side, and threw in two boundaries for good measure as he capitalised on a fast start by veterans Hamish Rutherford (25 off 13) and Neil Broom (30 off 13) to share an explosive 77-run stand for the fifth with Mitch Renwick.
It proved a bad toss to win for the Aces who just couldn't get close to chasing down the Volts' 219-7 — which ranks in the top five team totals in the Volts' T20 history, and was a new T20 ground record for Molyneux Park, surpassing their 190-5 set here last season.
Ben Horne put up a brave fight with a knock of 63 off just 35 balls — his maiden T20 half century — until he slipped over setting off for an unlikely second run, and was run out. His side still finished 45 runs short, bowled out on the penultimate ball by Matt Bacon who ended their misery with 3-18.
Earlier, the Auckland Hearts sprang back into life after their stinging opening round defeat at the hands of the Wellington Blaze on Christmas Eve, beating the Otago Sparks by 37 runs at Alexandra's Molyneux Park.
Sent in by home captain Katey Martin, the Aucklanders made a solid start in crisp, fine Central Otago despite tight work all round from the Sparks' attack.
Breaking her lean trot this summer, Anna Peterson notably burst back into form at the top with her new Hearts career best and the team's top score of 68 from just 50 balls (nine boundaries, one six) as she batted into the 15th over.
Peterson had given the Hearts the platform to push on to 156-3 in their 20 — the Hearts' eighth-highest team total in the T20 format.
Opener Polly Inglis scored a run-a-ball 62 in response, but it was a lone hand as the rest of the Sparks side collapsed — all out for 119 on the penultimate ball. Arlene Kelly had started the ball rolling and finished with 3-26 while Holly Huddleston picked up the big wicket of Martin for no score in a fine brace of 2-17 off four.
