When Cricket is a 97/100 Proposition

Over the weekend we saw a 24-hour period that was a perfect example of how unpredictable the game of cricket in its many forms can be. Three teams looked to have gotten themselves into unbeatable situations, to have had the winning of the game firmly in their grasp. In odds-makers terms, any team in the same position as these three teams should win 99 times out of 100. Well, if nothing else was proven on the day, those odds actually appear to be just 97 out of 100.

In South Africa in the 1st Test against Sri Lanka, the home team had driven home their advantage, and was on the verge of another home Test victory. Requiring 304 in the fourth innings of the match, Sri Lanka has recovered from 5/110 to 5/206 before a late flurry of 4/20 left them at 9/226 and the match was as good as over. 78 for the final wicket in this situation was never going to be an option.
And then a funny thing happened. Kusal Perera targeted the bowling, picking his areas and waiting for the right ball to deposit to and over the boundary, while his young cohort Vishwa Fernando at the other end refused to buckle, the confidence of having taken eight wickets in the match now surging into his batting. It was exhilarating stuff that was only hindered by the constant thought that at any moment it would come to an end. But it didn’t.
The new ball was taken at 9/263, still 41 short of victory. Now you suspected it was only a matter of time. The batsmen tried to sneak a single with a squirt to slips, and Elgar’s throw to the bowlers end narrowly missed the stumps – it would have been out, but with no one backing up it ended up being a five. Then Perera smashed Steyn over mid-wicket for six. In the following over a top edged pull went for six over the keeper's head. Then a repeat shot over mid-wicket off Steyn in the next over meant suddenly Sri Lanka only needed six runs! Two leg byes kept Perera on strike, and then he played a perfect one-day glide past first slip to the vacant third man for four to win the game for his team. Joyous scenes erupted, and the vanquished South African team was once again left to wonder how on earth they had allowed themselves to be defeated from an unlosable situation, especially with a bowling attack consisting of Steyn, Rabada, Philander, Olivier and Maharaj. It raised the ire of the term “choker” back into the South African vernacular, and so close to another World Cup that is a term they are certainly not adverse to.
Scorecard: 1st Test South Africa vs Sri Lanka

In Australia in the final of the BBL T20 domestic tournament, the Melbourne Stars was about to win their first title. Having bowled and fielded superbly to restrict their opponents the Melbourne Renegades to 5/145 despite an unbeaten partnership of 80 between Tom Cooper and Dan Christian, the Stars had then cruised to 0/93 from 13 overs. There was literally no way they could lose this match. With Dunk and Stoinis at the crease, and Handscomb, Maxwell, Maddinson, Gotch and Bravo still to come, there was literally no way that they could not score the 52 runs from 43 deliveries that they required to lift the trophy. No team could lose from this position, except by beating themselves.

Which is exactly what they then proceeded to do. Stoinis was bowled trying to hit Boyce over the boundary, almost the first shot in anger he had attempted. Handscomb threw his bat wildly to hole out to cover. Dunk decided to hit the final ball of Boyce’s last over straight to deep mid-off, and Maxwell skied the next delivery to deep square leg. The Stars had lost 4/6 in 12 deliveries. The game was no longer a certainty. 

But the mayhem didn’t stop. Maddinson, Gotch and Bravo all played deplorable shots to all be caught as well, and the resulting panic had brought 7/19 from 30 deliveries, with each and every wicket brought about by poor strokes and/or poor headspace from the batsmen. At any point in this carnage, had just one of the batsmen pulled back and considered the situation and with a clear head saw that a single every ball and the odd boundary would still win this game, they would have won the game. Instead, it was left to Zampa and Bird to score 33 runs from 13 deliveries, which they were never going to do, and the Renegades won by 13 runs.

Honestly if this match had been played in a different place by different teams, it would have been labelled as match fixing and be under investigation. As it is, perhaps it should be anyway. Cricket officials are already discovering that T20 cricket is the perfect place to indulge in spot-fixing and the like. Just what would the Renegades have been paying with 52 runs required off 43 deliveries and all ten wickets still in hand?
BBL08 Final: Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars

Meanwhile in Oman Quadrangular T20I Series, the Netherlands had Ireland under the thumb and about to pull off a great victory when yet another match went pear shaped.

Netherlands had managed 9/182 off their 20 overs, a total that even on the flat dry wickets of Oman should probably have been enough for victory. With two overs remaining Ireland was close enough, requiring 18 runs from 12 balls and with just five wickets in hand. A terrific penultimate over from Klassen saw only six runs scored but vitally two wickets fall, leaving 12 runs required from six deliveries. A single and a boundary came off the first two deliveries, before a run out occurred when trying to sneak an impossible second run, followed by another wicket the following delivery. A dot ball on the penultimate delivery meant six runs were required off the final ball, with the last man at the crease. The previous eleven deliveries had been perfect death bowling, all it needed was for one more perfect delivery and the match was Netherlands. They couldn’t lose. Except that the final ball was bowled right into the wheelhouse of Stuart Poynter, who clubbed the ball over mid-wicket for six to win the game. Incredible.
Oman Quadrangular T20I: Netherlands vs Ireland

What does any of this show? In the case of T20 cricket, it is further proof that this version of the game really does allow teams of any standard to surprise and pull off an upset. It also shows that there is never a good time in T20 cricket to throw your wicket away thinking that the next guy in should win it for you. The result in South Africa is something completely different. A touring team that had already tasted heavy defeat in two other countries over the past two months found a way to overcome adversity in a third country and defeat a team ‘ranked’ much higher than they were. Like the West Indies recent defeat of England in their Test series, it proves that cricket is not a predictable game or one that you can ever rest on your laurels; that the game is never over until the final ball is delivered. And isn’t it so much more enjoyable because of it...

BBL Needs Retooling to Keep Australian Summer Relevant

If there is anyone in the known universe who doesn’t think that the eighth edition of the Big Bash League has not gone on too long, then they truly have no life outside of the least fascinating version of the game of cricket. With the 59th and final match of the competition to be played this afternoon, the deciding match between the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars, two months have passed since the first match took place a week before Christmas. How many people actually remember who played against each other in that match, and what happened? It is an interminably long tournament, and interest has fluctuated throughout depending on whether you have been on holidays or not and able to actually take it all in. Some matches have been fascinating, some have been a dead loss, and then there are a whole bunch of matches in the middle that became predictable before the first innings had concluded.

We know that, at least for the four remaining years of the current television deal, the competition will not be shortened, as the networks have paid out their billion plus dollars knowing they will get this many games to broadcast. I believe this will end up being a problem down the track. Even as Cricket Australia has flagged tightening the schedule next season to have the BBL finished by the beginning of February it means having the same number of matches played this season being squeezed into less days of an already packed schedule, which risks turning fans and viewers away from one or more of the current versions of the game – Tests, ODI’s, T20 or all domestic formats. As much fun as I find it watching cricket from 9.30am to midnight, it is not practical in regard to the working and family lives of the majority of people. Sadly, myself included.

Notwithstanding that no shortening of the BBL is forthcoming, I still present my own solution to the BBL competition for consideration here:

1. Bring in the Canberra Comets as the ninth team. The Comets played in the domestic one day series for a time during the late 1990’s. Though at the time it was deemed the supporter base was not large enough to support a team, much has changed in the two decades since. At all underage national championships both male and female, the ACT/NSW Country teams have dominated, reaching several finals. They also now have a team in the Futures League, ensuring the large NSW player base has a platform to graduate to the higher levels. Manuka Oval is now a Test match ground and is perfectly placed to host BBL games with access far reaching to the south and west to regions where travelling to Sydney to watch games is out of the question. It would also give country NSW kids a team to support and watch and more importantly aspire to play for. The base is already there and setting up the team should not drain the resources of Cricket Australia so much that it is a burden. There would be a question raised as to is there enough depth in playing talent to cope with another team in the BBL, but there is part solution to that question…
2. Increase international imports for each team to three. Giving each team the chance to have three internationals could immediately free up eight players from other squads. This is not a given, as the Scorchers and the Hurricanes played for most of BBL08 with only one international, but it does give each team a better scope to find international players to boost their team and their ability to draw in fans. There have been problems in attractive players such as AB De Villiers given the plethora of other T20 tournaments happening around the globe and the money they are paying the best players to attend, but if Cricket Australia agreed to promote a shorter and more compact BBL it could be more conducive to attracting international players than the overblown one we now have. This could be achieved by…
3. Each team only plays each other once. With the addition of a ninth team, this would mean that each team would have four home games and four away games, which mirrors more closely the format of the competition as it was when it started eight years ago. The reduction in home games from seven to four should mean that each game will be better attended than they have been in BBL08, filling grounds like the SCG, MCG, Marvel and Optus Stadiums that have been half full for most of the tournament. This would also cut the number of matches in the preliminary round from 56 games this season to 36 games next season. By doing this, we would achieve…
4. The BBL window shrunk to 4-5 weeks. If this was implemented next season, the BBL could start on Friday December 20, a few days later than this season. And depending on scheduling of Tests and ODI matches, it could be completed on the Australia Day long weekend. This would mean the tournament would be a little over a month long. Surely the positives of this would mean that spectators interest could be held for the entire tournament, that international players could happily come known they would be here for a month and not two months, and that the other pillars of the Australian summer, such as the one day domestic competition and the much maligned Sheffield Shield competition would be given room to breathe and actually feel as though they are a part of the summer again instead of just pigeon holed into whatever small gaps appear after the other tournaments have taken all the prime scheduling. If done well, it could also mean that Australia’s international players may even be able to play for a portion of the tournament, something it needs to help showcase it to other parts of the world.

These are by no means the only fixes that could be applied, but to me are sensible steps to reclaim the higher ground for cricket of all levels in Australia during the summer. The BBL is only a cash cow for Cricket Australia while it makes money, and the over-saturation of the tournament this year has already shown signs of killing off the goose that lays the golden eggs. The tournament is too long, and everyone can see that. Cricket Australia needs to fid a way to negotiate with its TV partners to try and tackle this now and not in four years’ time, otherwise we may find that it is too late to save what can still be a terrific, fun and enthralling tournament from becoming a lacklustre drawcard that drags the rest of Australian cricket down with it.

Of course, we know that just won’t happen, until it is too late.

P.S – the first game of the BBL this season was the Brisbane Heat against the Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba. Just in case you had forgotten.

BBL08 Match 23: Bailey's Heroics Can't Counter Finch Flair as 'Gades Beat 'Canes

In the wonderful The Muppet Show there was a skit called “Veterinarian’s Hospital” where the intro overdub said, “the continuing stoooory of a quack who's gone to the dogs”. I am being constantly reminded of that line the more of this season’s Big Bash that I watch, because I really believe the form guide to this summer has gone out the window. Teams are winning against opposition who they have no business in beating, and even though there was an x factor thrown into this evening’s match that gave the Renegades a glimmer of hope, surely it should not have been enough to beat the undefeated Hurricanes team. Once again however this was proven not to be the case.

The Hurricanes have built their season on bowling first and then no matter what total they are chasing being able to track it down. It has been enormously successful, so having been asked to bat first mean they would have to change their method slightly. Their devastating openers Wade and Short have caused massive damage this summer, and along with Doolan have been the mainstay of the top order. So when the Renegades through Kane Richardson and Shinwari were able to dismiss all three in side the first three overs it smashed apart their winning edge and forced the rest of the batting to stand up and find a way through.

McDermott and Bailey were in charge of the rescue rather than just the finish which has been the norm this season. Both were cautious against the bowling and the sluggish Marvel Stadium wicket. They pushed the total to 3/74 off 14 overs before they decided to go harder in order to get a defendable score. From here they scored 71 from the final six overs which was a terrific effort to get the Hurricanes close to a par score at 5/145. McDermott showed off his power skills again to finish on 50 off 43 deliveries, while Bailey again was dependable, brilliant and awesome finishing on 70 not out off 53 deliveries. It was another fantastic innings from the former captain who still shines bright despite not being in calculations for further honours in recent years.

The x factor for the evening came from the return of Aaron Finch to the Renegades side between his lost Test place and before leaving to captain the ODI team. It always looked likely that he would enjoy a return to the white ball format where he could play his strokes against less intense bowling that he has been receiving from the Indians this summer. And so it proved to be. He and Sam harper batted well together, blunting the Hurricanes attack and playing some exhilarating strokes in amongst it. When Harper (32 off 18 balls) and Finch were eventually dismissed, Finch from a direct hit run out at the bowlers end for 42 off 39 deliveries, the Hurricanes were still a theoretical chance of getting out of the game with a win. However, the Renegades winning combo of Mohammed Nabi (26 not out off 22) and Dan Christian (25 not out off 13) finished off the game once again for them, winning with a six with four balls left in the match. Clive Rose did his best for the Hurricanes with the ball, conceding only 15 runs and taking a wicket off his four overs to give the Hobart team a sniff of victory.

It will be interesting to see the Hurricanes next few matches. They lost tonight away from home and having been forced to bat first. Which was the greater consequence of the loss, or was it a combination? No matter what, if they are forced to bat first again in the next game it will be eye opening to see just how they go about it after tonight’s match.

BBL08 Match 22: Sixers Shock Strikers at Home to Continue Giant Killing Spree

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.

BBL08 Match 21: Mujeeb Spins Heat to First Victory of BBL08

The Scorchers BBL is officially in freefall following their fifth loss in six games, and this one at their new home ground would have been a bitter pill to swallow. Playing against the winless Heat team the home team would have hoped for a better return given they had their captain in Mitch Marsh back in the team, and having only missed the finals of the BBL competition once they are now well and truly under the pump if they are going to keep that record intact.

Outstanding once again was Mujeeb ur Raham who, on a wicket that is seen as a paceman’s delight, bowled four amazing overs for the figures of 2/10, which included two wides in his first over. The batsmen found him impossible to read and impossible to get away, and he completely bamboozled Michael Klinger, bowling a ball that came in a foot from outside the off stump to miss it by the smallest of margins before next delivery bowling the leg break that Klinger again didn’t pick and found himself stumped by a long margin. It was an amazing piece of bowling to the most experienced batsman in this competition. He also dismissed Marsh on his return in his spell. Mujeeb continues to be the Heat’s jewel, though he was supported by the pace and fire of James Pattinson whose return to top level cricket is gaining traction. He took 1/30 from his four overs, though he looked to have another wicket that was halfway to being given out by the umpire before he changed his mind. Pattinson was furious, and replays suggested he was right to be. Even though he went for some runs it was his speed and lengths that again lifted fans of the game, with the hope that he can continue his rise injury free back to higher honours as soon as possible.

The Scorchers total of 6/135 was nowhere near enough to challenge the Heat batting line up unless they could take wickets quickly, and even though wickets fell at regular intervals the required run rate never dropped low enough to cause the chase any problems. The top five all scored at a run a ball, and Ben Cutting gave the team some breathing space with his 26 off 16 deliveries that enabled the Heat to pass the score five wickets down with ten balls to spare. Nathan Coulter-Nile, who was apparently left out of the ODI squad because of back soreness, showed none of that as he took 3/25 from his four overs with good speed.

The Heat now join the Scorchers on one victory for the season but will feel as they are headed in the right direction, while the Scorchers are under the pump. They have the best fast bowling attack in the competition but have been let down by their batting all competition. With no one else to call on it becomes the responsibility of those in the team to improve their output if they are to recover from this downturn. Perhaps getting Ash Turner up to number three would be a start, after he once again top scored for the Scorchers with 47 runs off 30 deliveries. If he faces twice that many deliveries then a decent score could be achieved.

BBL08 Match 20: Stoinis and Maxwell Show Aussie Colours in Thunder Domination

The Stars gamble to take a home game to Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast paid dividends as they dismantled one of the favourites the Sydney Thunder in emphatic fashion, losing only two wickets in their chase and perhaps proving in the process what a tough job the Thunder will have once their English exports head off in a week’s time.

The question had been asked of the Thunder team as whether or not they could produce a winning total without a big contribution from Jos Buttler who has been excellent this competition, and conversely opposition teams knew that if they could get him early they could pressure the rest of the Thunder batting line up. That was achieved today when both Buttler (18) and Ferguson (0) were dismissed in consecutive deliveries by Scott Boland, and when Watson (14) went not long after the Thunder suddenly found themselves in uncharted waters. Joe Root (26 from 28) again struggled in this format of the game, and it wasn’t until the livewire Daniel Sams came to the crease that the Thunder made some forward progress. Sams scored 42 runs from 25 balls at the back end of their innings which saved his team from a score that looked as though it would struggle to get too many over 100. The final total of 8/135 never looked enough but it was at least something to bowl at.

It is difficult to work out just what kind of captaincy string Watson tried to pull by bowling his young leg spinner Jono Cook in the powerplay six overs – not for one over but two! So much pressure on the inexperienced shoulders, and the 22 runs that came from those two overs gave the Stars the kick along they needed at that point to make the chase a comfortable one. It a decision that cost his team any real chance of victory.

Dunk and Stoinis got the Stars off to that fast start, before Maxwell and Larkin calmly and methodically chased down the Thunder score. They negated the danger of Fawad Ahmed and simply went at a run a ball. Larkin has been a revelation for the Stars since coming in as a replacement for the injured Nic Maddinson and his 41 not out off 41 deliveries again continued his breakout season at the domestic level. At the other end Maxwell showed the kind of batting maturity that he has always been capable of but at times does not show, his 41 not out coming off 31 deliveries and leading his team to victory with almost three overs to spare.

As can be expected, the competition is beginning to tighten up again with each team showing they are capable of winning if they do all the simple thing right. The Thunder will be mulling over how they will score runs once Buttler moves on, while the Stars now lose both Maxwell and Stoinis for almost two weeks of their season – or perhaps even longer if either or both gain selection in the Test team, which isn’t such a long shot.

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.

BBL08 Match 18: Renegades Batting Woes Exposed by Second Gear Strikers

Two teams that looked to be a mismatch played each other some days ago, and the unfashionable Renegades got home thanks to Christian and Nabi over the reigning champion Strikers. It just seemed so unlikely, so much so that when they met again this evening it still seemed like a dream, and that the Strikers had all the firepower to make this game a forgone conclusion. The end result validated that feeling, which made the result in their first clash this season even more difficult to believe.

It was a massive error to win the toss and not bat first. Like the pitch at Spotless Stadium last night, this was low and slow and always looked as though any total of 140 plus was going to be difficult to run down. But the obsession with teams wanting to chase totals continued, and with the average batting line up that the Renegades currently possess it just wasn’t smart cricket.
However, they certainly shouldn’t have been chasing as many as they did. After a great start to take 60 runs off the first seven overs by the Strikers, they kept finding ways to get themselves out. The two run outs for the Strikers were not only a waste and harmful to the run rate that had been occurring, but both showed the importance of checking just how you are holding your bat in the diving process. Both Short and especially Weatherald had to dive to make the crease, and both had their bat beyond the crease line, but in the process of the slide the bat had bounced in the air. Weatherald especially had the back of his bat on the ground, which left the end of the bat beyond the ‘hills’ section above the line. Weatherald had been the star of the first innings, scoring 71 from 44 balls and his dismissal along with Ingram robbed the innings of its momentum. At 6/127 with two overs remaining it looked as though 140 was as many as they were going to get, but again Rashid Khan came in and played a gem with 21 not out off seven deliveries, and with Jono Wells 22 not out got the total up to 6/158 with 31 from those final two overs. It was a massive game changer.

The Renegades reply was stagnant from the start, with the batsmen unable to get the ball away from the good length bowling and the unresponsive wicket. The initial foray of Stanlake and Neser both picked up an early wicket, and from that point the spinners took control on the sluggish surface. Liam O’Connor (2/21) and Colin Ingram (1/20) both benefitted from the average batting picking up wickets and being able to bowl many more overs than they should have been allowed to, which put the late order under enormous pressure to score runs and score them quickly. Rashid Khan (1/18) then tied them in knots to ensure the result of the game long before its conclusion, and was a bit stiff not to have at least two more wickets. The Strikers didn’t get out of second gear through the whole innings as the Renegades just fell apart, allowing skipper Ingram to not even bowl most of his front liners to completion.

While there is still so long to go in this BBL season, the Renegades are in real danger of slipping out of the contest. They will have Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris back to strengthen the batting for a time, something they desperately need as the current line up is just not up to this standard. For the Strikers, they continue their charge after a couple of hiccups and still look likely to be one of the teams to beat when the finals come around, especially as they are likely to be able to keep their team intact for most of the rest of the BBL.

BBL08 Match 17: Turner's Heroics in Vain as Thunder Fall Over the Line

There was little doubt that batting first was going to be the key in this match at Spotless Stadium. The WBBL match beforehand was plagued by low, slow bounce that did for most of the Sixers top order, most of whom are also in Australia’s top order. It showed that you had to bat forward of the crease and play forward to succeed on the night, and that any total set above 140 was going to be extremely difficult to chase down.

Jos Buttler once again did the job, batting through to 18th over and ensured a decent total could be reached. He has not only become a terrific T20 cricketer but has been a terrific pick up for the Thunder over the past two seasons. His 55 off 54 balls was terrific under the conditions. So too was Cal Ferguson (42 off 30) once again until he copped the mully grubber from Agar. Chris Green finished it off well with 18 not out off 9 deliveries to get the total to 6/142, which looked too many.

Jhye Richardson has this season begun to show why the selectors have shown interest in him. He destroyed NSW in the Shield game in Perth in November, and he was awesome in the defeat of the Strikers in the BBL game there as well. Here on this low slow wicket he was fast. Swift. He followed Jason Sangha with a bouncer that smashed into his grille. It was frightening. The ball was clocked at 143kph but it looked much faster than that. He has some work still to do but his improvement over the last 12 months is impressive, and his raw pace looks to be increasing.

I still cannot believe Fawad Ahmed is not in Australian calculations, in every form of the game. He continues to bowl brilliantly and do the job every single game. Australia play a Test on a traditionally spin favoured wicket in Sydney tomorrow, and Fawad showed once again that he can do the job by taking 2/22 off 4 overs, just a few kilometres away at Homebush. He was not the only spin bowler to do well on the day, with Jono Cook bowling terrifically to finish with 1/13 off 4 and Chris Green with 1/32 from 4, but Fawad is the class wrist spinner that continues to do the job. He has no contract with Victoria this year, but still starred in their JLT Cup victory and has played most of the Shield games for the state as well and continues to star for the Thunder. For goodness sakes, sometimes you have to wonder just what the selectors are looking for.

The Scorchers were snuffed out by the spin attack on the dead wicket, falling to 5/54 in the 12th over and the match was practically finished. Ash Turner and Will Bosisto stuck to their task though, and with one over to go were still an outside chance to steal the match needing 20 runs. Turner took the strike and, aided by two boundaries and two wides from Daniel Sams, got the equation down to four required off the final delivery. He could only manage two, and the Thunder limped to a one run victory. Turner was terrific with 60 not out off 36 deliveries, and Bosisto finished on 23 not out off 21, and their unbeaten partnership being 87 from 53 deliveries.

The Scorchers now fall to one win and four losses, their worst ever start to a BBL competition. The fight is still there but their batting is under real pressure. The Thunder move to three wins and two losses, and their biggest problem is working out how they will replace Jos Buttler when he leaves to go back to international duties.

BBL08 Match 16: Stoinis Excites Test Allrounder Talk to Destroy Renegades

With the current state of problems with our national team, I guess it was always inevitable that the solutions to those problems would start coming from the performances in the BBL competition, even though it is a completely different form of the game than our Test match situation. That two men dominated the talk in this match was not unusual – that one of them came from Nepal again shows the growing influence of cricket in other nations that are beginning to show up Australia.

The Melbourne New Year Derby has become a tradition of the BBL season, and while a big crowd was again in attendance it was obvious that it was not as big as many were predicting, once again showing the drop off of crowds numbers that has come with this edition. Is it that there are so many matches this season that fans will pick and choose rather than rushing in to get to a game before they all conclude? Or has the events in South Africa and the poor form of our national team since just turned spectators away? To be honest, a downturn was always inevitable because growth can only occur to a certain point. As long as the games can be exciting they will draw people to the matches. Perhaps that is beginning to be the problem.

The Renegades will be wondering long and hard how they lost this game, having raced away to the perfect start, with Harper (30 from 16) and Harvey (21 from 15) scoring 52 from the first five overs to lay the platform for a huge total. The loss of both within three deliveries changed the course of the innings, and from here consistent wickets falling as batsmen tried to up the ante from their own sluggish starts then compromised any ability to launch towards the 180-200 that they probably should have been looking at. Their chances of even reaching the par of 160 fell when Dan Christian was dismissed, his 32 from 28 deliveries the only worthwhile contribution in a final score of 9/148. While the twin spin attack of Zampa (1/24) and Lamichhane (1/31) was again important it was the all round seam bowling Bravo (3/27) and Stoinis (2/26) that caused the real headaches.

Like the Sixers earlier in the day, the Stars made a perfect chase, getting the platform they needed from their openers before the middle order played sensibly by getting plenty of singles while finding the boundary to the poor deliveries. Dunk (32 off 27) and Stoinis put on 67 from 8 overs to start the innings, and despite the loss of Larkin continued to be proactive as Stoinis and Maxwell (33 from 22) added 65 for the third wicket. Cam Boyce for the Renegades was easily their best, bowling four excellent overs of leg spin to pick up the only two wickets to fall to a bowler, both stumped through perfect flight and turn and bounce. I still wonder at what could have been if he had been given the same opportunities and encouragement that other spinners have received that never made it.

Marcus Stoinis, as he has done for Victoria and Australia, played an almost perfect innings from the opening position. He stood straight and tall and drove hard down the ground and pulled and cut with authority. He hit four boundaries and four sixes in his 78 not out from just 49 deliveries, and while his stroke play was excellent it was his solidity at the crease that gave the chase an air of confidence. Added to his bowling, and a brilliant catch he took in the outfield, it was just about the perfect individual game in a T20 match, leading the Stars home with 7 wickets and two overs to spare.

During the match and afterwards there was plenty of talk directed as to Stoinis’s credentials to be playing Test cricket for Australia, as always lead by the commentary of Shane Warne, who backs a different player in every match that should be playing for Australia. That’s not to say that he, along with everyone else in his corner, doesn’t have a case. His performances for Australia with the bat especially in ODI cricket has far outshone any other candidate for an ‘all rounders’ position in the Test team. The problem I still forsee is that these performances are in white ball cricket, and not red ball cricket. The danger still comes from runs scored on roads against bowlers who have to bowl in a certain channel every ball, compared to the differences of Test wickets where bowlers have much more freedom to bowl different lines widths and lengths. Granted, there is no red ball cricket in a two month window for him to show his wares, and he looks a better candidate than most to be spoken of for that position. One wonders just how far up in the selectors view Stoinis currently is, and whether performances in a 20 over slugfest are seriously considered as being good enough to be selected in the toughest format of the game.

After opposing starts for these two teams, their fortunes appear to be reversing quickly, with the Renegades coming back to the pack and the Stars back on the rise. The Stars though have problems on the horizon, as Sandeep Lamichhane has now left to play in Bangladesh, and they will soon lose both Maxwell and Stoinis to the ODI team. This will test their depth over the coming two weeks.

BBL08 Match 15: Lynn Explodes But Sixers Team Performance Takes the Points

At the start of this competition the Heat were fancied by many to be one of the teams to beat while the Sixers looked to be short of what was required to make an impact. That made this game at that time look like an easy one to pick. Circumstances and results since more or less made it a 50/50 proposition, and it was going to need someone to stand up to make a difference. The one everyone has been waiting for to explode this season is Chris Lynn. Still, a team effort will almost always beat one man’s effort, and that was mostly proven once again this afternoon

After the Heat was sent in, Max Bryant played the first two overs of spin perfectly, waiting on the length and hitting through the line either straight or through point to hit boundary after boundary. The first two overs brought 32 runs and had the Heat off to the kind of start they have been looking for. Impetuous youth eventually brought about his downfall for 34 off 18 which was such a shame after the start he made. When he gets it all together he is going to make some big scores in this format of the game.

The Sixers bowling brought them back into the game as they hit the pitch and change the speed of the ball coming through, which did for most of the middle order. Heazlett, McCullum, Burns and Cutting could only contribute 14 runs from 28 deliveries through this period, and all four continue to underperform for the Heat. Steve O’Keefe went for 18 off his first over but only went for 1/12 off his next three. Joe Denly bowled two invaluable overs for 1/8. Dwarshuis (1/30) and Curran (3/25) both were excellent. At 5/101 off 14 overs it all fell at the feet of Chris Lynn, who with the help of being dropped on three occasions was able to cut loose. With the help of the vastly underrated Jimmy Peirson the two fashioned a partnership of 72 from 43 deliveries. Lynn was dismissed for a belligerent 84 off 55 balls with three fours and five sixes, while Peirson finished with 23 off 16. This got the Heat up to a competitive 7/164, but after their start the Sixers would have been happy with the effort.

The Sixers batting line up played the best tempo chase of the summer, willing to take their time in setting up the innings and taking the boundaries when they became available. Joe Denly missed out again, but North Sydney grade captain Justin Avendano had a terrific debut with 30 off 24 balls before he forgot to slide his bat and was run out when he was well in the crease. Hopefully he will get another chance to shine as he played extremely well.

Skipper Moises Henriques played a terrific hand, picking his bowlers and balls to dispatch to the boundary as well as running hard and getting a single almost every other ball. He scored 57 off 37 deliveries before holing out with four overs to go, leaving his team needing 44 off four overs for victory. From here it was the Sixers most consistent bat this season Jordan Silk to take over, and he along with Josh Philippe played superbly, hitting boundaries and stealing two’s against the hapless Heat bowling. Silk eventually fell for 46 off 25 balls, but Philippe (14 not out off 7) and Tom Curran (5 not out of 2) got the Sixers home with three balls to spare. 

The Heat still have trouble with their finishing bowling. Having bowled out both James Pattinson and Mujeeb Ur Raman, the Heat left Lalor and Swepson an over each for the end, and two overs for Ben Cutting, who once again showed he just isn’t suited to such a position. Because the Sixers had played their chase so well and kept wickets in hand as well as retaining momentum, it meant they were perfectly placed to go at 11 an over that they required for the final four overs. It means the Sixers are 3-2 compared to the Heat’s 0-3, and any pre-season hopes for the Heat are quickly evaporating in the Queensland humidity.

BBL08 Match 14: A Moment in Time Gives Strikers the Advantage

While it is not always possible to nail down one single moment when a game of cricket is won or lost, there are occasionally ones that stick out like a sore thumb, where the moment and consequences following it seem to be that single difference. Such can be said to be the case for the New Years Eve clash between the Strikers and the Thunder where one particular moment can be singled out as a match killer.

On the final ball of the 14th over of the Adelaide Strikers innings in their match against the Sydney Thunder, Colin Ingram, who was on 44 runs off 30 deliveries at the time, hit a full toss from Chris Green to deep mid-wicket, where Jason Sangha ran in a few metres and then dropped what was a relatively easy catch at this level of cricket.

At the time the Thunder had been dragging themselves back into a match they had been losing grip of. The Strikers had been 1/106 off the first ten overs and looked as though 200 was going to be a minimum chase. The single that Ingram took from the ball he was dropped on meant that the Strikers had only scored 1/19 off the previous 27 deliveries. Ingram’s wicket at this stage would have meant two new batsmen at the crease, and the Thunder would have been back in control.

The next over, Thunder captain Shane Watson decided to bring on young rookie spinner Cook to bowl. It was a tough ask for the young man at a crucial time of the match. Ingram, who should have been in the pavilion, took advantage of this decision, and went 6,6,1,1 (to Matt Short), 6,1. In total 21 runs came off the over. It felt like a turning point.

Still, despite the first ten overs, and this particular over, the Thunder managed to restrict the Strikers to 4/175 which while not perfect was a lot less than they should have been chasing. Chris Green (0/18 from 4) and Daniel Sams (2/24 from 4) were excellent. The Thunder need Jos Buttler and Watson to go big if they were to be a chance, but with both going for 23 and 28 respectively it was always going to be an uphill battle after that. Rashid Khan got his usual two wickets, while golden arm Peter Siddle returned from the Test reserve bench again to take 3/20 from his four overs including the big wickets of Ferguson (47 off 39) and Joe Root (18 off 11) when they were looking to break loose. With the Thunder finishing on 6/155, the Strikers won by 20 runs. It might appear comfortable, but if you go back to that one over of the Strikers innings after Ingram was dropped, there was 21 taken for it, as well as the run taken when the catch was dropped. That’s 22 runs. There’s your match.

Does that one moment become the difference between winning and losing? Statistically in the way I have offered it, then yes. Over the course of the match? Maybe not so definitively. But if that catch was taken it most certainly would have been a different match from that point onwards, and I’m sure Shane Watson has thought about his decision to bowl Cook in that over a number of times since.

BBL08 Match 13: Clinical Hurricanes Douse Scorchers Firepower

The lead up to this game was more or less hijacked by the return after nine months suspension of Cameron Bancroft to top level cricket, and the reaction to this both at the ground and around the world seemed to be of more interest than the match itself. Perhaps for the Scorchers that was a good thing as it drew attention away from their batting woes so far this season and perhaps would turn out to be good for them. It did not.

If it wasn’t bad enough losing a wicket off the first ball of the match, then the collapse to be 4/19 after four overs was enough to rip the heart out of any glad tidings that may have existed for the return of Bancroft to cricket. Indeed, his innings of dot ball, turn to leg for two, then edge to keeper was less than glorious. Better days will come. A sensible partnership between Hilton Cartwright (29 off 35) and Ashton Agar (32 off 37) restored some vigour to the innings, but both fell to the left arm chinaman of D’Arcy Short – Cartwright putting a half tracker straight down deep mid-wicket’s throat, and Agar doing the same to a full toss. A wrist spinner’s two greatest wicket taking deliveries. A typical express pummelling by Nathan Coulter-Nile helped to raise what looked like a double digit total to a slightly more defendable one of 8/107.

The Hurricanes took zero chances in looking to win the game, with not one six hit in the reply. Wade and Short both played steady innings before being dismissed, while Alex Doolan showed his class and some sparkling drives in his score of 41 not out off 36 deliveries. The Hurricanes passed the score four wickets down with a little over two overs remaining to once again hand the crowd a less than exhilarating match in regards to exciting cricket, but was exemplary in regards to competently bowling a team out and then chasing the total without any dramas. As entertainment it was less than would have been hoped for.

BBL08 Match 12: Surface, Seam and Spin Secure Sixers Victory

Though we are only a couple of weeks into the BBL competition there is already a feeling of a split in the better teams from the average, whether it be from a talent level or an experience level. The teams who are at full strength look to be a class above those teams that are still mixing and matching beyond the players they have available in their squad. Given this is the case the Renegades and the Sixers looked an easy pick in a season of tough choices. It proved not to be the case.

The Sixers were sent in as is becoming the norm this season, and at 3/25 after six overs it looked to be the correct decision. Still, the main cause for dissention is that no one still seems to know what a defendable score batting first is, which means that if you can hold out and just cobble out every run then you may just have enough. The pitch at Marvel Stadium has already been shown to be difficult to score quickly on, which means that less exciting methods have to be used to create a winning total. This is what the Sixers batsmen were forced to achieve. They hit only five boundaries and three sixes in their twenty overs, with Henriques (20 off 20), Silk (30 off 33), Philippe (20 off 13) and Curran (23* off 15) building the total to 7/132. It was a similar total to the one that they achieved just two nights ago at the SCG, a total that was chased down by the Stars with relative ease. But that was on a different surface, one that looks to come on to the bat better than this one under the roof.

Skipper Moises Henriques got his bowlers on song from the start. Pace bowlers Curran (3/18) and Abbott (2/16) hit their lengths perfectly to take the early wickets, before spin took over. Steve O’Keefe again showed his poise in this form of the game, taking two wickets in two deliveries and stifling the run rate to finish with 2/19, while debutante off spinner Ben Manenti had a debut to remember, taking the wickets of top scorer Mackenzie Harvey for 30 and Cameron White for 1 in a breakout spell of four straight overs which cost him the miserly figures of 2/13. It was the perfect innings by the Sixers, as the constant flow of wickets stopped any effort to increase the run rate, and eventually led to a massive victory by 33 runs.

BBL08 Match 11: Fielding Blunders Sway Result in Enthralling T20 Contest

‘Catches win matches’ is a phrase as old as cricket itself, and it once again raised its head in tonight’s BBL08 clash in Hobart where the butter fingers of the Hurricanes fielders allowed the Thunder to post a total batting first that was far superior than anything else so far this season, and then the Thunder did the same to leave both teams ruing the missed chances, and the final victor open until the final over as a result. What it did produce was the kind of T20 matches that everyone wants to see.

Joss Butler bossed the Thunder innings having been sent in with his wonderful stroke play, eventually falling for 89 from 54 deliveries, and it was his innings that anchored the Thunder as the other batsmen all made small quick contributions to the cause. He was dropped twice, the first of which was most costly as he was only on 12 at the time. It would have changed the match. There were also several misfields that led to boundaries coming from what should have been singles that boosted the score. Chris Green’s cameo of 26 off 14 deliveries at the end meant that the Thunder eventually set a massive chase after compiling 6/193. 

The Thunder showed the way to stifle the Hurricanes opening duo by bowling spin from both ends to completely diffuse the electrifying pair of Short and Wade, only allowing five runs off the first two overs. The danger was in how long to bowl them, and perhaps the change after four overs was too early. At just 27 runs off four overs it could have continued, especially when 15 and 14 came from the next two overs, the first ones of pace. The slow bowling success is likely to be replicated by future opponents. 

With the pressure released, the Hurricanes pair looked unstoppable until the unforgivable mix-up during an easy two cost Short his wicket and ended a terrific partnership of 120 off 12.1 overs. Short’s 58 off 39 deliveries had set the tone after the foundation start set, and Matthew Wade continued on, finally falling for 85 off 49 deliveries when his team had dragged it back to 28 required off 17 deliveries. He had been dropped when 74 was needed off 40 balls, and if that had been taken it would have been a tough ask, but his great striking brought the Hurricanes right back into it. 

Still, it took the celebrated Tasmanian veteran George Bailey to come to the crease to apply the finishing touches, with the help of two waist-high no balls in the last two overs. He bashed 23 not out from 10 deliveries to run down the total with five balls to spare and an amazing victory for the Hobart Hurricanes. Someone somewhere will explain to us all why it is that Bailey is not still playing for Australia. Every time he needs to produce to get his team over the line he seems to produce. That’s something we could use in the green and gold at the moment. 

It’s a big win for the Hurricanes and a slight setback for the Thunder, but these are currently the best two teams in the BBL competition and the finish – if not the fielding display from either team – was fitting for the contest.

BBL08 Match 10: Sloppy Sixers Fight Reality as Stars Take Control

At the start of this BBL campaign, when looking through the squads it looked a forgone conclusion that the Sixers were going to be hard pressed to win anything in 2018/19. They had lost some senior personnel and good players and had pressed hard with youth. The loss of John Hastings who had been signed as leader hurt as well. They won their first game thanks to one great partnership and three early wickets, but they now seem to have come back to earth with a thud, losing to fellow 0-2 season record Melbourne Stars at home.

It is obvious that no team in this competition knows what a good score batting first is, and that the majority of them have been scared off batting first as a result. The Sixers had a chance to make a statement in this match by making a solid 170-180 score to give the team batting second a target and put the pressure on, but a constant flow of wickets from poor decisions cost them, as it has done a number of teams this tournament.

The young Nepalese bowler Sandeep Lamichhane had his own cheer squad on the boundary and again impressed by bamboozling both Henriques and Curran with his wrong‘un, and was virtually unplayable under the circumstances. He was well supported by Adam Zampa who continues to push for his place in the ODI World Cup squad next year. The surprise was the opening pair of Zampa and Glen Maxwell, and the fact they made the Sixers batsmen try to put the pace on the ball kept them under the pump. As a result they were never able to break away after the loss of the first three wickets and their total 130 never looked enough, despite Jordan Silk’s excellent one man show of 41 not out.

The return of Peter Handscomb to the team following being dropped from the Test team brought raves from the media, with his entertaining 70 from 35 deliveries immediately allowing the media to suggest he was fighting back against a tough selection decision. To be fair, he was dropped three times, and received four or five long hops that he disposed of as they should have been, as well as two french cuts off his middle stump, so it was the most satisfying or selection-boosting innings as has been made out. What it did offer was that Handscomb does have a great array of strokes and hits the ball extremely well, and on a hard flat pitch with the field spread his examined technique at Test level doesn’t seem to have any problems. It doesn’t answer any questions beyond this match though.

The Sixers are now in dangerous territory. Their weaknesses have been exposed, and to be honest it looks doubtful that they will be able to fight their way out of it. To be any sort of a chance of making the final four they must have their bats such as Denly, Henriques and Hughes supporting Silk to make big totals and hope that their varied bowling attack will be good enough to defend it. At the moment it is tough to see where their next victory is going to come from.

BBL08 Match 9: Scorchers Blitzkrieg Leaves Strikers Misfiring

The Scorchers has been the benchmark team for the entire BBL competition for its first seven years of existence, and much of that has been based around their amazing bowling attack. Though they may lack a front line spinner, the pace attack is so potent that opposing batsmen have to find a way to score off them without losing their wicket. Such was the storm that the reigning champions the Strikers flew in to on Boxing Day when they were completely blown away at Perth Stadium.

Though teams don’t appear to like batting first, no one would have expected the smashing that the Strikers met when asked to do so in this match. Despite having already done well so far with the bat, they barely looked like that kind of form as the Perth pace ripped through the heart of their line up. The Strikers lost 7/21 in a little under seven overs as Behrendorff, Coulter-Nile, Willey, Richardson and Tye went to work on the helpful pitch provided for them. They were fast and they gained a lot of bounce and movement which created mayhem amongst the Strikers, not the least Alex Carey who found it almost impossible to get the ball off the square. He had scored only 11 from 26 deliveries when he finally fell to one of the most bizarre run outs of the summer, where the two batsmen almost stood in the middle of the wicket while the Scorchers had three throws at the stumps before finally finding Carey short of his ground to finally be put out of his misery. It took some late hitting from Valente on debut and Rashid Khan to get the Strikers even the barest chance with a total of 88. Jhye Richardson’s pace and speed was the most impressive of the bowling quintet with his 3/7 from 3 overs.

There were no scares for the Scorchers, who played conventional cricket in reaching 3/92 off 18 of their permitted overs to win the game, including seeing off dangerman Rashid who bowled his four overs for the misery figures of 0/9. As a tactic this was perfectly understandable, with no risks taken in making sure that they reached the winning total and had no scares, with Will Bosisto not out on 36 off 34 balls, while Ashton Turner took 46 deliveries to make 24 runs. 

It was a win for the Scorchers, but it must have been a terrible drag for the paying spectators who came out to watch an exciting and pulsating game of T20 cricket. This was yet another example of how T20 cricket is such a disappointing format most of the time. The match was virtually over when the Strikers were 7/46, and as a spectacle it never recovered from that. On TV it isn’t so bad because you can appreciate the actual ‘cricket’ side of the game. But most people watch T20 cricket for big hits and big scores in both innings, and that seems to be occurring less and less all the time. There have also been murmurs about crowds being down on last season, and these kind of games will be contributing to that.

BBL08 Match 8: English Channel Form as Thunder Flatten Sixers

The Sydney Derby on Christmas Eve was a bit of a damp squid, both in attendance and in contest. The experience of the two teams set a wide margin between them and for the most part this is how the game progressed. The Sixers first game was one where they probably got away with a victory they shouldn’t have secured, while the Thunder has a top order that looks as good as there is in the tournament. All of this added up to a good win the further the Thunder’s season, and a loss that may perpetrate the future for the Sixers.

Jos Buttler proved once again how important he is to this Thunder team, and how much they will suffer when he has to leave in the New Year for national duties. He was the second man dismissed in the 12th over and the total was already on 102. Buttler scored 63 of those off just 37 deliveries, with six fours and three sixes. He manoeuvred the bowling around and then took advantage of overpitched deliveries to dispatch them when they arrived. He set up what should have been a much bigger total. The Sixers Tom Curran and Steve O’Keefe were able to drag back the momentum a little after Buttler’s dismissal, with Curran in particular superb in finishing with 3/24 from his four overs. The Thunder’s Daniel Sams slapped 28 from 11 deliveries at the end to wrest back some of what had been lost, and without his contribution that Sixers could well have been chasing a total of under 150 which would have been a remarkable achievement following Buttler’s start. The Thunder’s final total of 9/169 was less than the Thunder should have got but more than the Sixers wanted to chase.

The Sixers top order again failed to fire, but on this occasion were not saved by Silk and Hughes who found themselves part of the demise. They were 6/56 after nine overs and for all intents and purposes out of the match, thanks in the main to Fawad Ahmed who again showed his prowess by taking three of the wickets to fall. Needing 114 off 11 overs seemed improbable, but an excellent partnership from Curran and Sean Abbott at least gave them a fighting chance, but they were unable to keep themselves up with the run rate required and eventually their chance slipped away. Curran made 62 from 40 deliveries to complete a fantastic all round match for the Englishman, while Abbott made 35 from 28 deliveries. Their partnership of 88 from 10 overs was terrific but left them 26 short with the final over to be bowled, a task too far as they eventually finished on 9/148. Daniel Sams completed the other excellent all round performance of the match, finishing with 3/30 to go with his late order hard hitting.

The result leaves the Sixers in no mans land, and one suspects that unless they find a way to make runs at the top of the order they are in for a long season, while the Thunder look in good hands with Buttler and Root until the time they depart, at which time there will be a need to reassess how they approach their top six.

BBL08 Match 7: Hurricanes Weather Lamichhane Storm to Seal Big Win

The Stars are on an Australia tour while their home ground is being used for the Boxing Day Test match, and thus they have a tough road ahead if they want to stay up with the other teams while they play a number of games in a row away from home. They had their chances in this match to take the win but eventually fell short as the Hurricanes used their experience to snatch victory.

The Stars should have made much more of the third wicket partnership between Nick Larkin and Glenn Maxwell, which put on 87 runs in 9 overs to lift the team to 2/119 in the 15th over. Larkin continued his breakout season by scoring 45 off 33 deliveries, while Maxwell hit no boundaries but five sixes in his innings of 47 off 31 deliveries. The loss of both within eight balls though slowed down the momentum that had been built, and while they finished at a respectable 5/155 it looked about 20 runs short on this wicket at Blundstone Arena. Joffra Archer showed his impressive pace again to take 3/25, while D’Arcy Short bowled four overs with his chinamen in picking up bothLarkin and Dwayne Bravo to finished with 2/23 in an impressive effort.

Short and Matthew Wade got away to another fast start, with Short making 34 from 22 balls before being dismissed at 55, all achieved within the first six overs. It set the platform for the chase, which was a good thing as once the Stars introduced Sandeep Lamichhane he began to spin his influence on the match. He bowled Doolan in his first over, before returning to dismiss both Wade and McDermott to at least give the Hurricanes some food for thought. He again starred with 3/24 from his four overs and he continues to be a revelation on this tournament. It was left to George Bailey to play the finisher again, hitting two fours and a six in his 27 not out off 18 balls to win the game with almost two overs to spare.

What this match showed was that the par score in Hobart is likely to be much higher than any other ground in the BBL this season, and that the Hurricanes while lacking a frontline spinner look to be one of the favourites once again to hold the trophy aloft at season’s end.

BBL08 Match 6: Christian Soldier Leads Renegades to Big Victory

Some cricketers were ready made for T20 cricket long before it became popularised around the world. Players whose batting was probably not quite enough to make it as a Test number 6, and whose bowling wasn’t quite penetrative enough to be a Test bowler. But work hard on those aspects and add in superb fielding as well and in the modern age you can become a T20 mercenary and a successful one at that. Step forward Dan Christian, who took centre stage tonight to almost single-handedly rip the game away from the Adelaide Strikers and hand the Melbourne Renegades a terrific victory.

Nothing is really ever done by one person (although Sophie Devine could arguably have done so herself in the opening match for the Strikers in their WBBL clash when she scored 95 and then took 5 wickets!) and sometimes it is the one who finished the game who receives the plaudits. Christian had taken three wickets in the Renegades first match but was restricted to just one over tonight due to being in hospital on a drip for food poisoning 12 hours beforehand. Despite this he spent his time running around the boundary rope on the field before playing his concluding innings.

The Strikers had set up an imposing chase, led in the main by Matt Short (65) and Jono Wells (42) with a great partnership of 104 that helped the Strikers to 5/174, and an tough chase despite the good pitch. Harper and White had taken the Renegades reply to 1/71 off 8 overs before they lost 4/11 in three overs, thanks in the main to Rashid Khan who beat both set batsmen with wrong ‘uns they did not pick to have them plumb LBW. Rashid was superb again, completing his four over spell with 2/13 which was his most economical return in his short BBL career. Given his influence throughout, the Strikers looked favourites from this point.

Instead, the partnership between Christian and Afghanistani Mohammed Nabi blossomed, and in fact began to dominate. From a position that looked a tough ask at the best of times, requiring around 11 runs an over for the extent of their partnership, they seemed to be able to keep pace with it at ease. In their first five overs together they took 7, 15, 11, 12 and 13 runs, keeping up with the required rate. The final over from Rashid conceded only two runs which made the task a bit more difficult, but by this time their partnership was established and it looked as though if they stayed together they would win the game. They needed 33 from three overs.

Nabi batted well, no doubt. He showed a lot of composure and regard for the situation. It is fascinating to see so many Afghanistan cricketers doing well around the world in this form of the game. Unlike almost four years ago at the 2015 World Cup where they were everyone’s favourite underdog team hoping they could find a way to win a game, they will go into next year’s World Cup with plenty of established and experienced campaigners thanks to the world T20 circuit. Yes the 50 over game is a different format, but Afghanistan will be a fascinating team to watch at that tournament in six months time.

The really amazing innings was that of Christian. He struck the ball so cleanly that it was hard to believe at times. Off Stanlake in the penultimate over, he played an incredible strike over mid wicket for six that flew over the short boundary. He followed that with an even more incredible shot, sitting on the back foot and playing what amounted to a punch shot over the long boundary at extra cover for another six. Thirty years ago the only player in the world who could do that was Viv Richards. Christian is a powerful man as these shots showed but it also proved just how good the bats are these days. If Vivi had had such equipment he would have destroyed grounds. Christian finished the over with another boundary, completely dominating Stanlake’s pace and leaving only three required from the final over, which Nabi duly completed with a boundary off the first ball. Nabi finished on 48 not out off 30 deliveries, while Christian was 49 not out off 27 deliveries, with two fours and five sixes in an electrifying innings. 

Not for the first time in this tournament it showed that if a team could establish a partnership through the middle overs then it proved difficult to stop the runs from flowing while they were together. It’s an interesting time in the tournament, as the attempted fireworks at the top of the order that most of the teams are trying to produce are falling flat, while good partnerships in the middle of the order are proving the mainstay. The opportunity for a change in tactics from some teams is open for them to take advantage of.