BBL06: Everyone gets a semi-final spot (except the Thunder)

What a wacky week of BBL cricket it’s been. With just three games to play, we’re still looking at the incredible situation whereby six of the eight teams can qualify for next week’s semi-finals. I don’t think we’ve seen a competition to date as tight as BBL06.

What we do know is that the Strikers are done, and that I’d appreciate if you all expunged my pre-competitoin prediction about them from your minds. No-one needs to waste memory with that sort of thing.

But there’s more: the Sixers still look shaky, ditto the Scorchers. The Heat are still simmering; the Renegades are still in the picture, but the picture ain’t pretty, and the Stars again look on track to lose a semi-final. And the reigning champions? The Thunder, well they’re finally dead after last night’s loss to the Strikers.

And I’ll say it again, they’re all (six of them) still in the hunt for the semis. Participation medals all ‘round…

Saturday first leg: Sydney Sixers 9/99 were completely annihilated by Sydney Thunder 2/100 at the Sydney Cricket Ground
It was all set for a game to remember: 80,000 people at Moore Park for the double-barrelled Sydney derbies; 39,756 people in at the SCG, smashing the previous domestic cricket record crowd in NSW; the second leg of the ‘Sydney Smash’, with the Sixers taking the first leg to kick off the season, and the Thunder in danger of missing the finals only a season after claiming an historic BBL-WBBL double.

And then the game started, and the Sixers were rubbish. Daniel Hughes and Michael Lumb sort of got going, but then went. And then Nic Maddinson, Moises Henriques, and Brad Haddin played the three worst shots of BBL06; I’ll let you decide the order, but whatever, the Sixers were suddenly 5/56 in the 10th over and in the deep stuff.

So deep, in fact, that they never recovered; 9/99 equalled their worst ever BBL score, with the only saving grace that they weren’t bowled out. They deserved to be, mind you, and in about the 14th over, if I’m honest. Fawad Ahmed was outstanding with four wickets – he toyed with Kiwi basher Colin Munro with two wrong’uns, then bowled him neck and crop with a bog standard leg break. Carlos Brathwaite chipped in with three himself, showing that – thankfully – there’s more to his game than the stupid ‘dab’ celebration.

In reply, the Thunder did the obvious thing and got the runs quickly. They had a bit of a wobble themselves, losing two in the sixth over, but Kurtis Patterson and Ben Rohrer reached the miserly target off the last ball of the 10th over.

The result was massive for Net Run Rates. The magnitude of the Thunder win jumped them from last right up to fifth, and improved their NRR enormously, while the loss left the Sixers with the worst NRR in the comp – and by some margin; they’re now in massive danger of missing the playoffs.

Saturday second leg: Perth Scorchers 7/134 lost to Melbourne Stars 3/137 at the WACA, Perth
Worryingly, the win-toss-bat-first-collapse-badly bug was on the other side of the country, too, and when Hilton Cartwright went in the seventh over, the Scorchers were 5/34 and in similar stuff, just as deep.

But at least Cartwright just nicked off and was caught behind; Ian Bell and Cameron Bancroft suffered the indignity of being out LBW to Michael Beer. Imagine having that on your record. Or worse, imagine Bell having to explain to his kids why he played for spin when facing Michael Beer…

Anyway, AJ Tye was suddenly promoted up the order for his first hit of BBL06 (what could possibly go wrong?), and promptly peeled off 42 from 33 balls, with four 4s and a six. Ashton Agar and Tim Bresnan (who knew?) chimed in with very handy 20s down the order, too, as Perth clawed themselves to a total they’ve twice defended scores lower than. In theory, they weren’t done.

In reality, it just proved too easy for the Stars, with Rob Quiney getting a start, and Kevin Pietersen and Marcus Stoinis getting the job done pretty comfortably, reaching the 135 target well inside the 18th over, and a Thunder-like NRRR injection sending them to the top of the BBL standings.

It was bittersweet for the WACA crowd: on one hand, 21,171 was a new BBL ground record; on the other hand, the Scorchers are still no certainty to host a final, meaning the WACA may have hosted its last ever BBL game, with the Scorchers moving over the river to the new Perth Stadium next summer.

Monday: Melbourne Renegades 9/171 beat Adelaide Strikers 8/165 at the Adelaide Oval
We saw an innovative batting strategy from the Renegades in Adelaide, one where re-Melbourne let Marcus Harris go for as long and as hard as he could with no support. It actually went OK, too, with Harris going for 85 at the end of the 16th over, and having posted two-thirds of the total himself. And it worked so well, they implemented it for Callum Ferguson, too, who made more than twice as many as the five blokes to follow him. Such thinkers, red-Melbourne.

In reply, Ben Dunk proved yet again to be the dud opener surplus to Hobart’s needs, making 32 off 25 rocks, and getting the Strikers off to the best possible start. But then the middle-order wheels fell off, and after starting the innings at 10-an-over, by the 16th, this had dropped to around seven, despite having five wickets in hand.

Jono Dean tried to play the late hero, with 17 coming from the 19th over, leaving 18 to win from the last six balls. But Dean went first ball, leaving Ashton’s-brother-Wes Agar in the hot seat. And he had a go; smashing a four over point, and then mis-timing the hell out of the next ball but finding the boundary directly behind the ‘keeper. But then he got out. Surely red-Melbourne couldn’t lose form here…

Well, no, they didn’t. But it says something about their season, that even with Adelaide needing eight off the final ball, I wasn’t completely sure the Renegades were home. I’m sure there’s more drama in their season yet, however.

And spare a thought for Peter Nevill, who’s had the roughest of rough weeks. After last week’s ‘communal box’ episode, he missed Indian tour selection because runs on Australian ODI wickets are now more valuable than tidy ‘keeping on the subcontinent. As if he hadn’t suffered enough, he copped a Brad Hodge bat handle to the jaw at the end of the 17th over, likely ruling him out of the rest of the BBL. And Aaron Finch pinched his box again! Enough, cricket gods; enough.

Tuesday: Melbourne Stars 7/138 lost to Brisbane Heat 3/139 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Clearly, the Stars have a bit of Warnie’s gambling spirit lingering in the MCG change rooms, electing to bat after winning the toss – despite the six teams to have done the same in BBL06 thus far all losing. And losing the aforementioned Quiney, Pietersen, and Stoinis early didn’t help their cause at all.

With Peter Handscomb called in to save the national one-day side as well, Luke Wright and David Hussey were left to fight off the wily leg-spinning powers of new wonder-Mitch Swepson, and set about building something resembling a total. Would 138 be enough? Statistically, no.

In actuality, also no. Brisbane didn’t get off to a great start either, but Sam Heazlett and Alex Ross got going and added forty for the third wicket, and then Ross and Joe Burns finished it off, with Burns finally finding the boundary late after looking real scratchy to start with. And all done without Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum, too.

Oh, and teams winning the toss and batting? 0 and 7…

Wednesday: Adelaide Strikers 5/178 killed off Sydney Thunder 101 at the Sydney Showground
What should’ve been the reminder to all that the BBL05 Champions were far from done, ended as a fight for a quick death, with the Thunder falling into a Sydney Sixers-like hole at the hands of New Zealand leggie, Ish Sodhi.

Chasing 179 to win and sneak a playoff spot, the Thunder barely even rumbled, losing their last eight wickets for 22 and with Sodhi’s 6/11 the best figures of the season to date, the second-best in BBL history. In news that will surprise no-one, the Thunder batsmen had no idea about playing the Black Cap’s leg breaks, and I can’t imagine it took long for the NZC chiefs to order three dustbowls and all-spin attacks for the return leg of the Chappell-Hadlee ODIs next month.

Normal service has resumed for the Thunder, then, claiming their fourth wooden spoon in six seasons. Wonder what Mike Hussey is doing next summer…

BL06 table after Game 29:

HEAT 10, STARS 8, SCORCHERS 8, SIXERS 8; Strikers 6, Renegades 6, Hurricanes 6, Thunder 6.

Next block of games:
Friday – Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Renegades; the ‘Gabba, Brisbane; important game
Saturday – Hobart Hurricanes v Perth Scorchers; Bellerive Oval, Hobart; huge game
Saturday – Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers, MCG; massive game