The Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes clash for the second time in two days, with the Hurricanes looking for revenge after the Thunder smashed them by 57 runs in Launceston. Here is my full preview plus The Prophet’s pick.
Sydney Thunder vs Hobart Hurricanes at Spotless Stadium
Head to Head: Hobart Hurricanes 5, Sydney Thunder 2
Last Five: Hobart Hurricanes 3, Sydney Thunder 2Hobart Hurricanes 13-Man Squad
George Bailey (c), Dan Christian, Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Ben McDermott, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills, Tom Rogers, D’Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Matthew Wade, Nathan Reardon, Alex Doolan.Sydney Thunder 13-Man Squad
Shane Watson (c), Kurtis Patterson, Aiden Blizzard, Callum Ferguson, Ben Rohrer, Ryan Gibson, Jos Buttler +, Chris Green, Fawad Ahmed, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Mitch McClenaghan, Andrew Fekete.
It’s not often in Australian professional sport you get the same two teams clashing two days apart, but this is the case here as the Hurricanes and Thunder move to Sydney to lock horns again.
The Thunder managed to break a two-game losing steak with their dominant win in Launceston and will be glad to be back in front of their home fans after three straight road games. The Hurricanes have started the season poorly, losing both their opening games by big margins, and need a win or risk being cast adrift early in the tournament.
Big batting battle: Jos Buttler vs George Bailey
The English import fired at the third time of asking for the Thunder, who needed someone other than Shane Watson to come to the party with the bat. His blazing 67 from 41 balls, including taking four sixes from one Tom Rogers over, helped his side get some much needed impetus at the top of the order against the same opponents they face here.
If I were George Bailey, I would be considering moving myself up from his usual number four position to help a struggling Hurricanes top three. I feel Bailey is by far their best player, and the more time he spends at the crease the better it is for his side.
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Big bowling battle: Mitchell McClenaghan vs Jofra Archer
These two made a big impact on the game in Launceston, with McClenaghan picking up his fourth two-wicket haul in two games, while Archer again was far and away the Hurricanes’ best.
Archer bowled quickly and accurately again, taking 1/22 from four overs, to give him figures of 3/39 from eight overs. McClenaghan’s aggression has really added another strong character to a Thunder side needing a few personalities after a really poor season last year.
Ground dynamic: Spotless Stadium
We have seen only one game so far this year at Spotless Stadium, and the scores were relatively low. I thought the wicket played reasonably well and the quality of the batting perhaps left a lot to be desired in this game, with the Thunder chasing down the Sixers score of 150 on the final ball.
However, there were definitely balls that held in the surface and the spinners extracted some turn, so I would be expecting a score of around 165 to be more than competitive on a drop-in wicket that could get slower as the tournament progresses.
The Prophet’s Pick (6-6): Hobart Hurricanes
“I’m stinging with the dusty Hurricanes here to get revenge on the Thunder. Time to get on a roll to start 2018”
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