The Hurricanes made it two wins in a row with a seven-run victory over the Strikers. Here are my five main takeaways.
1. Hurricanes hang on
The Hobart Hurricanes made it back-to-back victories with a seven-run win over the Adelaide Strikers at Blundstone Arena last night. The Hurricanes racked up their second straight score of over 180, mustering 5/183 from 20 overs, thanks largely to another explosive 96 from opening batsman D’Arcy Short.
The Strikers recovered from 2/10 to make a real game of it, before finishing on 6/176 from their 20 overs. Jofra Archer was the star with the ball for the Hurricanes, easily defending the 13 runs required from the final over, to claim the amazing figures of 3/15 from four overs.
The Hurricanes now sit at 2-2 and are right back in the mix for a finals spot, while the Strikers suffered their first loss of the season to drop to 3-1.
2. Short fires again
D’Arcy Short became the only player in BBL history to make back-to-back scores of 90+ with 96 from 58 balls last night to help propel his team to another win. Short is as good a ball-striker as anyone in the country, but until now has lacked consistency and ability to pick his moments.
Here he smashed four 4s and one 6 in the powerplay against the Strikers, and really allowed the Hurricanes to have a high ceiling with the way he attacked from the outset.
While he did not bowl last night, Short is also an improving left-arm wrist spinner, which is a rare commodity these days. This overall package makes him a real smokey to make his debut for Australia in the T20 format sometime over the next 12 months.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
3. Archer a star
Jofra Archer has taken the BBL by storm this year and is proving a matchwinner for the Hurricanes. Archer has the highly impressive overall figures of 8/96 from 16 overs, going at just six runs per over, and averaging two wickets per game.
Last night, he claimed 3/15 from four overs, when every other Hurricane bowler went for at least eight runs per over. His last two overs were bowled with the game on the line, and his sheer pace and execution of yorkers were too much for a Strikers middle order that was doing plenty of damage at the other end.
Archer hopes to play for England, but is a couple of years away at least from being able to do so. With his ability and potential, you would think he is a certainty to wear international colours in time with more performances like this.
4. Rose coming of age
Clive Rose has been something of a weakness for the Hurricanes in recent years, however he has become somewhat of a banker this year with a few impressive displays. He looks to have a bit more presence about him, and a bit more confidence in his ability to make an impact on a game.
Rose has modest figures through four games with just four wickets at an average of 28, and an economy rate of 7.6, however that’s not too bad considering he has been bowling a lot up front in the powerplay.
Good spinners are a huge asset in BBL cricket, and I thought the Hurricanes might be up against it this year with Rose and Cameron Boyce not as effective as some other attacks. However, both have started to find their feet in the Hurricanes’ last couple of wins.
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5. Positives despite Adelaide’s first loss
Despite this being their first loss of the season, it was arguably the best performance from this Strikers unit with the bat. Travis Head and Colin Ingram both found a bit of rhythm, and their partnership of 102 brought the Strikers back from seemingly out of the contest to right back in the game with seven overs to go.
Ingram is an inventive player who used reverse sweep and several square-of-the-wicket shots to put the Hurricanes under pressure. Head played with a bit more freedom, and I just wonder whether chasing a big total actually forced his hand a little bit and helped him play a bit freer than the way he has been batting to date in this year’s BBL.
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