BBL08 Match 19: Hurricanes Hold On as Short Gives Selectors a Reminder

The Hurricanes have set themselves up as the benchmark of BBL08 through their excellent home form and chasing ability, led by their top five batsmen who have done the job on every occasion so far in the tournament. Though it might have gotten a lot tighter than they would have liked in their match against the Sixers, they again finished victorious and retained their unbeaten record so far this season. 

The Sixers are having a mixed season, but seem to be getting closer to the outfit they want and the best order they can manage with their squad. They needed to score big when asked to bat first and probably left a few runs in the shed by the end. Daniel Hughes (61 off 40) and Moises Henriques (31 from 24) both batted well again, but the Sixers needed one of them to go on to make a really big score if they were to get the total they needed. Other small contributions along the way allowed the Sixers to reach a par score of 8/161, though it has been found at Blundstone that a score of closer to 180 is needed if you are to really challenge the Hurricanes batting. Johan Botha made his first real contribution to the Hurricanes season, taking 3/22 from his four overs against his former teammates. 

The Hurricanes would have spent some time deciding what they were going to do when D’Arcy Short was called into the ODI squad, and probably had contingency plans in place. With the news yesterday that he had been left out, it now leaves the Hurricanes with a bigger headache, in how to fit all of their players into an XI. If Short was disappointed with the selectors decision he certainly gave them food for thought, once again being the mainstay of the Hurricane chase scoring 64 from 42 balls. He has failed to do the same job at international level to this point, though one wonders if given the form he is in whether or not he should have been given the chance to convert that to the international stage. Australia’s loss is most definitely the Hurricanes gain. 

George Bailey scored 30 off 17 deliveries, but the Sixers probably should have won except for nine deliveries, with firstly Joe Denly bowling the 16th over and conceding 16 runs which gave the Hurricanes the momentum they needed, and then the first three deliveries of Sean Abbott’s final over and the 19th of the innings when the Hurricanes needed 19 off 12 balls, and they went 6, 1, 6 to cut it down to just six required off nine deliveries. One wicket and only two runs from the next five deliveries revived some hope but in the end the Hurricanes snuck home with one delivery to spare. 

The Hurricanes play their next five games on the road which will give everyone a better indication of how good a team they have this season. Not losing Short, and squeezing Tim Paine in for a couple of games, will mean they will remain at full strength through this period which makes them favourites. The Sixers will be disappointed to have gotten so close but still losing the game, but their season appears to be stabilising after some initial problems. Whether they can make the finals is still up in the air but they at least have a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses than they did two weeks ago.