BBL6 Game 14 - "Live" Halftime Recap - Hurricanes v Strikers

Hobart Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers 10/143 (20 Overs) @ Blundstone Arena

Christian and Broad Step Up For Hurricanes

The Hurricanes had been one of the worst performing bowling sides in BBL6 coming into this match. However they hit back tonight bowling out the Strikers for a poultry 143. As a coach and as a captain, when you are going through a rut, you ask your senior players to be the one to lead the side out of the mire and step up. I reckon in the lead up to this game, George Bailey might have had a word to his two senior statesmen with the ball in the team, Stuart Broad and Dan Christian, and they responded in kind. Christian responded with remarkable figures of 5/15 from 4 overs. Christian has been criminally under bowled in BBL6 so far and he really shows George Bailey exactly what he can do here . By deploying him in the Power Play, getting an aggressive and in your face character like him in the game early is a good move. The Hurricanes two most experienced bowlers did a stellar job here, putting the clamps on the Strikers and bowling with aggression and control. Brad has been getting better and better every game after a slow start and tonight he produced the outstanding figures of 1/17 from his 4 overs.  Broad was on the money from Ball 1 hitting the pitch hard early but using his change ups wisely at the death. 

Puzzled by Some Team's Logic

Tonight it was the Strikers' turn to get a bit funky with their batting order. I have a pretty simple philosophy in T20 cricket - get your best players in first. Arguably the Strikers best batsman in Brad Hodge and Travis Head, are coming in at 4 and 5, with the side in trouble at 3/42. They are both far superior batsmen to Jake Weatherald and Jono Dean. To make things even more bizarre, Hodge had opened the batting in their last match and stroked a nice 37 to propel his side to 1/90 off 9 overs. I think some sides are really outsmarting themselves with their batting orders in BBL6. Last night the Renegades decided to open with Sunil Narine, while slotting in Marcus Harris at Number 3 ahead of Cameron White. White is a far superior player to both and should be given the maximum amount of time to face as many balls as possible. I understand you could make an argument the Renegades won the game, and Narine made 21, so all is well, but I still disagree with the move. White is a proven opener and could have done a lot of damage with another 20 balls to face. Someone might be able to tell me the logic behind it but I can't see it. 

Dunk Back to Haunt His Old Side

Ben Dunk's 31 from 17 balls helped Adelaide to a flyer, posting 40 in their opening 4 overs against the Hurricanes. Unfortunately for Dunk, he was floored by a fantastic yorker just as he was starting to go through the gears. His dismissal triggered an all too familiar collapse for the Strikers, as they lost 3 for 6. Dunk had pummelled 20 from his previous 5 balls, and looked set to really rub salt into the wounds of his old team. Dunk was surprisingly moved on by the Hurricanes in the pre-season and traded to the Strikers, where he has made an immediate impact. He has been in fantastic form so far in BBL6 with 153 runs at an average of 35. However, when you're assessing the value of T20 batsmen, averages only give half of the picture. Strike rate is just as valuable, and Dunk is striking at a massive 185 so far in the tournament. So not only is Dunk getting the Hurricanes off to regular fliers, but he is taking the pressure off his team mates at the other end and allowing them to play more of an anchor role. 

Hurricanes Change Things Up As Milenko recovers From Nightmare Start

While Clive Rose had been doing a good holding job for the Hurricanes, the coaching staff obviously identified the need to strike some early blows if they are going to get on top of sides, and so changed things up for this match.  For the 1st time this year the Hurricanes used experienced all around Dan Christian for 2 over in the power play. Playing his first game of BBL6, Simon Milenko must have been looking for a hole to hide in after being carted for 20 off his opening 5 balls by a blinkered Ben Dunk. Whenever you see a new bowler come into the side as an opposition, you know they are going to be a bit nervous, and you try and target them early by hitting them out of the attack.  However Milenko responded with a searing yorker to dismiss Dunk, before dismissing Jake Weatherald, to give the Hurricanes a couple of key wickets in the Power Play. 

Shaky Start to 2017 For The Lurker

The Lurker is staring right down the barrel  of a 1 from 3 start to 2017 after his Strikers posted a mediocre score of  143 on the postage stamp that is Blundstone Arena. The Lurker would have been seething to see Travis Head fall one run short of the 25+ he expected him to score into a Strikers win. The Lurker needs another out of their skin bowling performance from the Strikers here if he wants to go 12 from 14!