The skill, innovation and intent batters are playing with has improved markedly.
Scores of 130-ish might have won you games in the past, but Otago Sparks Craig Cumming is adamant they are mostly losing scores these days.
Exhibit A, the Sparks made 130 for seven against the Auckland Hearts on used surface in Queenstown on Thursday.
It was competitive up until a point — that point being when the Hearts captain Lauren Down hit the go button and guided her side to a six-wicket win with three balls to spare.
"It wasn’t good enough," came Cumming’s blunt assessment of the tally.
The two teams meet again today at Eden Park Outer Oval.
As far as Cumming is concerned, 150 is the minimum his side needs to target.
"You’ve got to get 150, simple as that. The template is there and that is the way the game is being played.
"We’ve got to learn how to do that which is the challenge. But we putted through to 130 when we had the opportunity to put our foot down and get through to 150.
"If we had got them, we would have had enough."
A day earlier Sparks captain Suzie Bates clouted an unbeaten century to help her side post a good win against Northern Districts. She went out in an odd fashion against the Hearts — dismissed hit wicket having collected her stumps in the follow through of her swing.
Bates was a key player in the line-up and her dismissal robbed the team of some impetus.
But Cumming said there was plenty of depth in the batting line-up and his side needed to have the confidence to follow through on the game plan and not slink back off to the comfort zone.
It is not all about blasting boundaries, though. The key to building a more competitive score, Cumming said, was simply scoring off more deliveries. Dot balls are the new smoking. They kill your chances of winning games.
"If you get a middling sore of 130 you are probably going to lose more games than you win now."
Experienced all-rounder Kate Ebrahim was one player who really embraced the challenge.
She is a prolific scorer but those runs have not always come at a good rate. She has taken on the challenge of lifting her strike rate this season and made two pleasing contributions in Queenstown.
The Sparks will welcome back spinner Eden Carson for today’s game against Auckland.
She missed the match in Queenstown to rest a niggle. Carson was Otago’s leading wicket-taker in both formats last season and her progress over the last 18 months has been impressive.
The Sparks have a nicely balanced attack spearheaded by Emma Black and Hayley Jensen.
Bates took a few years away from the bowling crease but has returned as an off-spinner and has picked up two wickets so far.
The Hearts have a lot of quality as well, but Down is at the top of that list. She made a composed 44 not out to lead her side to victory in Queenstown.
Her wicket will be a prized one.
Super Smash
The squads
Otago: Suzie Bates (captain), Olivia Gain, Polly Inglis, Kate Ebrahim, Caitlin Blakely, Felicity Leydon-Davis, Hayley Jensen, Bella James, Eden Carson, Emma Black, Sophie Oldershaw, Molly Loe, Gemma Adams.
Auckland: Saachi Shahri, Anna Browning, Lauren Down (captain), Izzy Gaze, Bella Armstrong, Katie Perkins, Arlene Kelly, Amie Hucker, Molly Penfold, Fran Jonas, Makayla Templeton, Prue Catton.
Game starts 10am, Eden Park Outer Oval
