We preview the KFC Big Bash clash between the Hobart Hurricanes and Adelaide Strikers to be played at the Bellerive Oval on Thursday 4 January.
Thursday’s Big Bash clash will see the struggling Hobart Hurricanes welcome the high-flying Adelaide Strikers at the Bellerive Oval.
The Hurricanes will need a repeat of the performance which saw them beat the Thunder by nine runs on New Year’s Day. That’ll be easier said than done against a Strikers outfit who who’ve gone three from three.
Hurricanes vs Strikers | Thursday 4 January | Bellerive Oval, Hobart | 10:35
To Win Match
Hurricanes 27/20 | Tie 35/1 | Strikers 63/100
Hobart Hurricanes
The Hurricanes got their first win of the season with an excellent nine-run victory over the Sydney Thunder on New Year’s Day. Darcy short was the hero of the day with the Northern Territory native hitting nine fours and four sixes on his way to a 63-ball 97.
He was ably supported by Ben McDermot who also fell agonisingly short of a milestone as he finished on 49 not out off just 25 balls. It did look for a time that the Thunder would be in with a sniff as Kurtis Paterson, Jos Buttler and Shane Watson took the Sydney franchise to 125 before a flurry of wickets effectively ended the match as a contest.
The hosts will need to be better with the ball against a dangerous Strikers top order. Their two imports, Tymal Mills and Jofra Archer will need be spot on with ball in hand. The latter has been good in the tournament, bagging five wickets at an economy of 6.75.
Mills on the other hand, has been pretty poor. He bowls with good pace but struggles to hit the right lines and lengths on a consistent basis. As a result, he’s been scored off rather easily and only taken a single wicket in three matches.
Adelaide Strikers
The Strikers have been sensational this season and have become hot favourites along with the Scorchers to claim the title. Like the Perth franchise, they don’t possess the best batting line-up and instead rely on an excellent attack to keep opposition scoring down.
This is something that has been highlighted in two of their three matches where they restricted the Thunder to 110 in the fourth match of the tournament before they skittled the dangerous Brisbane Heat for only 91.
Ben Laughlin and Rashid Khan have been the pick of the Strikers’ bowlers, taking 15 wickets between them in three outings. Their cause has been helped with the likes of Peter Siddle and Billy Stanlake returning some of the most economical bowling performances in the competition so far.
You do worry a little bit about their batting. Travis Head and Colin Ingram are the guys you’re looking at to get the big scores, but both have been just okay without really setting the competition alight. You do feel, however, that one of them is due for a big score sooner rather than later – and you’d fancy them to do just that against the Hurricanes.
Verdict: Adelaide Strikers 63/100
The Strikers really shouldn’t have any trouble getting the job done in Hobart. Their attack should be able to restrict the Hurricanes top order with their own batters set to cash in on what should be a good batting wicket.
