Former White Ferns captain Suzie Bates and spinner Eden Carson return from international duty.
Bates will captain the team and was the leading scorer in Super Smash last season. Carson was Otago’s leading wicket-taker in both Super Smash and the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, so her return is very welcome as well.
Hard-hitting White Ferns all-rounder Jensen is not on the team sheet, though. She has skipped back to Australia to spend Christmas with her partner, but will be back for the Sparks’ back-to-back matches in Queenstown on December 28 and 29.
The Sparks will need every ounce of help they can get.
They have drawn the defending champions first up. Last season the Blaze breezed through the tournament unbeaten, including clobbering the Sparks by 75 runs in the final.
Sophie Devine is missing from the line-up, but White Ferns Melie Kerr, Jess Kerr, Maddy Green and Rebecca Burns will be present.
Melie Kerr will captain a team which boasts a power-packed batting line-up and a host of quality bowlers.
They will certainly start as favourites.
But Bates was the best player in the competition last year. She clouted five half centuries on her way to a haul of 504 runs from 12 games.
When she was not dispatching boundaries, she was collecting catches at a staggering rate.
She nabbed a tournament record 20. That was more than twice as much as anyone else in the field last season and nine more than the previous record held by Liz Perry, who made 11 catches in 2019-20.
"She just gives everyone such confidence," Cumming said.
"And she also makes it so we have a lot of fun. She is a big leader when it comes to the smiles and the jokes and we are a better team on and off the field when Suzie is around."
Carson will team up with Sophie Oldershaw in a double slow bowling act. It is an area of strength for both teams.
"I can’t wait [for the challenge]," Cumming said about playing Wellington.
"They are a good side and they have plenty of depth.
"There’s nothing like starting against the team which has set the benchmark, so for us I think it is great. I think they are probably sitting there going, ‘gee whizz, look at the Sparks’.
"But at the end of the day you only find out where you are after a couple of games and we are keen to measure ourselves."
Super Smash
Wellington, 11am
Otago: Suzie Bates (captain), Olivia Gain, Polly Inglis, Kate Ebrahim, Caitlin Blakely, Felicity Leydon-Davis, Bella James, Eden Carson, Emma Black, Sophie Oldershaw, Molly Loe, Gemma Adams, Chloe Deerness.
Wellington: Rebecca Burns, Georgia Plimmer, Melia Kerr (captain), Maddy Green, Jess Kerr, Leigh Kasperek, Thamsyn Newton, Jess McFadyen, Natasha Codyre, Xara Jetly, Caitlin King, Maneka Singh.
