Northern Districts Tactically Earn Tie by Retiring out Two Batters for First Time in T20s During Super Smash 2025–26 [WATCH]

In a first-time ever in the history of T20 cricket, Northern Districts managed to eke out a tactical draw during the ongoing Super Smash 2025 against Otago Volts by retiring out two batters for batting slowly. Former Kiwi international Jeet Raval and rookie Xavier Bell were retired out after they had struggled to get the Volts’ bowlers away.

With the innings stalling, opener Jeet Raval (23 off 28 balls) retired at the start of the 17th over. In the following over, Matthew Bell (9 off 13) followed suit. Their replacements, Ben Pomare and Scott Kuggeleijn, made an immediate impact by each hitting a six off their very first delivery in their chase of 167.

Pomare hit 20 off 10 balls before Kuggeleijn accelerated at the death to bring the equation eventually down to Northern Districts needing 19 off the final over. While Pomare departed in the penultimate over, Scott Kuggeleijn remained unbeaten on 34* off 12 balls to take his team to equal terms (166/6 in 20 overs).

A Super Over, however, did not take place because it is only available for knockout stages – the Eliminator or the final to determine a winner in the Super Smash.

Watch the video of the incident below.

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Northern Districts tactical move help earn crucial points in Super Smash 2025-26

Recently, the strategic importance of taking wickets has diminished significantly. This was seen when Nicholas Pooran opted not to stump a struggling Max Holden during an ILT20 match, despite the batter being well outside his crease. Just one delivery later, the Vipers strategically retired Holden out after his 42 off 37 balls, making way for Shimron Hetmyer. The move proved key, as Hetmyer provided a crucial late-innings burst, scoring 15 runs from just nine deliveries.

Earlier, during the 2022 Vitality Blast, a similar tactical batting strategy was used although not in the same innings. It involved Carlos Brathwaite and Samit Patel, who were both retired out by their teams during separate innings of the shortened eight-over contest.

This latest tactical ‘retired out’ strategy also benefited the Northern Districts team in their recent match, which they employed not once, but twice. The game ultimately concluded as a tie, resulting in Northern Districts and the Volts sharing the points. They are still, however, at bottom of the table with four points from three games.

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