The stars will be out tonight in Christchurch as BLACKCAPS Ross Taylor, Will Young, Blair Tickner and Ajaz Patel (Central Stags) and Matt Henry and Daryl Mitchell do battle in the first Dream11 Super Smash T20 under the new Hagley Oval lights.
Canterbury Cricket is expecting a bumper atmosphere after pre-registrations for the free-entry match sold out two days in advance - and spectators are in for a treat with Ross Taylor set to play his first Super Smash T20 in four years to mark the historic evening.
The Stags are coming off a big win in Otago where they set a new ground record at University of Otago Oval after their third 200-plus score in the space of four games.
They will be hungry for another win to take them back to equal top points, with the unbeaten Wellington Firebirds meanwhile having brushed aside the Northern Knights by 80 runs yesterday at the Basin Reserve for their fourth win in four games.
It was turn and burn at the Basin for both the Firebirds and their sister team the Wellington Blaze, with spinners - Firebirds captain Michael Bracewell and WHITE FERN Leigh Kasperek - taking career best four-fors in the respective Wellington wins
The Wellington sides are New Zealand's twin defending champions, and now lead both the men's and women's ladders this season - but the Canterbury Kings are also unbeaten, sitting in third after having played just two games so far this summer.
The strong Canterbury Magicians are also keen to climb up the women's table and bring a 1-1 record into today's match against the winless Central Hinds.
Like the Stags, the Hinds have played more games, and are already entering the back half of their campaign with their sixth of 10 regular-season matches today - which will be a special one for co-captain Jess Watkin with her 50th T20 appearance for the injury-hit side.
The Magicians-Hinds match gets underway at 3.40PM and the Kings-Stags at 7.10PM with both matches livestreamed on Spark Sport.