BBL08 becomes less predictable with each passing match, where the teams that look to be certainties against teams that look to be struggling suddenly switch roles and the result goes in a completely different direction from what should happen. Coinciding with a continuing curse on teams batting first on what appears to be good surfaces, it might be keeping the competition interesting but it sure is making it difficult to see where the runs are going to come from that have gone missing in season 2018/19
The Strikers have had an excellent home record in recent times and with good form going into this match looked as though they would be more than a match for the Sixers. A lack of runs at the top of their order has hampered the Sixers season so far and all things pointed to this being their downfall again. The Strikers won the toss and looked to post a total to defend which has not been the norm this season in the BBL but in most circumstances is a good move at Adelaide Oval. Yet the Sixers strength has been their bowling, and even though the Strikers made a promising start apart from the run out of Alex Carey, the Sixers bowling and fielding dragged them in and stifled their ability to get away. O’Keefe, Curran and Abbott have been huge for them. O’Keefe went for 15 off his first over this evening but only 6 off his next two which was terrific stuff. Curran went for 15 off the 20th over but was great before this. Dwarshuis bowled the best death over of the season with six almost perfect yorkers and a wide in the 19th over, proving that it can be done and it can contain most batsmen. Despite another excellent innings from Jake Weatherald with 50 from 40 deliveries – and surely his is a name that is cropping up in selection circles – the Strikers were contained to just 5/150, a score that historically was at least 20 runs short of a par score.
The Strikers hopes lay with the leg spinning options of Rashid Khan and Liam O’Connor, and between them they picked up three wickets and made a mess of the middle order of Hughes, Henriques and Silk. It was great to watch, but in that time Joe Denly was dropped off a simple chance, and that proved vital. It was the first time this season that Denly has been able to get going, but at 4/99 off 13 overs there was still work to do. Enter Josh Phillippe, the 21 year old West Australian wicket keeper with the Steve Smith looks and technique who looks to be a kid with a big future. It was his first chance to do a job this season and he didn’t disappoint, scoring 30 not out off 15 deliveries with three fours and a six. Alongside Denly’s excellent 76 not out off 60 deliveries with eight boundaries and a six, the Sixers saw off the much-vaunted Strikers attack to pass their total with ten deliveries remaining.
This was a game that the Strikers would have targeted as a win, and yet the Sixers managed once again to do the right things in the field and with the ball to keep their chase to a manageable one, even given two of the best T20 bowers going around in Rashid and Siddle were in the Strikers team. It’s a setback for the Strikers, while the Sixers have put themselves into a great position at the halfway mark of their BBL campaign.
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