BBL6 Game 18 Recap - Strikers v Hurricanes @ Adelaide Oval

Adelaide Strikers 5/164 (18.2 overs) Defeated Hobart Hurricanes 8/161 (20 Overs) 

Dunk Comes Back To Haunt His Old Side

Ben Dunk showed revenge is a dish best served cold by piling on a classy 79n/o to lift the Strikers to a 5-wicket win and sink the team that traded him in the off-season. Eyebrows were certainly raised when the prolific Dunk was traded for Hamish Kingston in the off-season. While the Hurricanes have found an able replacement in D'Arcy Short, they could sure do with some of Dunk's experience and class somewhere in their Top 4. After scoring 31 against his old side last week, Dunk was in complete control here, smashing an effortless 79n/o from just 49 balls and helping keep a run chase on track that threatened to wobble off course a couple of times.

It was a season saving victory for the Strikers who just stay in the mix for one of the finals positions while still sitting relatively precariously at two wins and three losses. For the Hurricanes, it was a case of what might have been after a dreadful start saw them slump to 5/50 inside the batting Power Play. Both Jonathan Wells and Beau Webster played fantastically to give the Hurricanes a fighting score of 7/171. However despite dismissing key man Travis Head cheaply, the Hurricanes could never quite get that vital double breakthrough to put enough pressure on the home side. 

Hodge Insight Fascinating 

Cricket captains are not like Rugby League, AFL, or Soccer captains. In these sports the captains might give you a rousing speech in the sheds in the minutes before kick off, however once they cross the white line it's the coaches doing the tactical manoeuvring. Cricket is one of the few sports where the captain's importance outweighs the coach in many respects. Once the cricket captain crosses the white line is when his job becomes most important. While he might have had a shared say with the Head Coach in terms of line of attack, field placements and plans for various batsmen, once he is out in the middle he is the one calling all the shots. Game plans change, field settings alter, depending on the situation of the game, meaning the captain is always having to think on his feet.

I always found captaincy so much fun as it keeps you engaged and always thinking. You have some ownership over the game and feel great satisfaction when you see a bowler execute a  plan or a team improve as a unit. It's interesting when you hear Brad Hodge mic'd up throughout the BBL. Because despite being laid back and offering relaxed conversation with the likes of Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh, his mind is always ticking over, thinking about the next ball, or who is going to bowl the next over, or how can I get inside this batsman's head. For Hodge, at 42 years of age, it would be making him feel old at times, but also keeping him young. Fielding can be boring at times, if you're not truly invested in the game. Hodge looks like he is really enjoying his captaincy and his relaxed persona shouldn't be confused with his tactical acumen. He has a similar body language to Brendon McCullum, a similarly relaxed captain whose body language allows his players to play with freedom and enjoy the environment around the team. 

Gap Between Hurricanes Best And Worst Alarming 

As a coach you want a side that performs fairly consistently every week, or every few days in the case of BBL6. Now T20 cricket can be quite a fickle game where one or two players firing might be the difference between a great victory or a big defeat. However,  that won't stop coaches searching to get the best out of their players and striving to improve as a unit every game. At the moment the problem for the Hurricanes is the gap between their best and worst displays are miles apart. Their worst is capable of losing to anyone in the the competition. In their three losses to the Stars, Heat and Strikers, the Hurricanes have been well beaten.

Two of those losses have come after thumping victories, making them a hard side to trust going forward. Last night it really was a case of self-inflicted damage as they lost 5/30 in the batting Power Play. Sure they were facing a fired up Billy Stanlake, however four of the dismissals were to average wider deliveries. With just a decent platform last night, the Hurricanes could have scored 180+ which would have put them right in the contest. At the moment, I'm sure Head Coach Damien Wright is frustrated as he doesn't know which Hurricanes' team is going to show up. Those sorts of teams don't generally go on to win titles or make finals in any sport,  let alone cricket. 

Jordan Breaks Though As Overseas Stars Struggle For Impact

There is always plenty of pressure on overseas players to make an impact for their respective sides. People look at you as the experienced pro, that has played at International level. Coaches want you to not only perform on the field, but add something to the dressing room and on the training field. So I do feel a bit for Keiron Pollard, Chris Jordan, Kumar Sangakkara and Stuart Broad. It's fair to say all four performances have been underwhelming in BBL6 so far. All those emotions would be swirling around their head. Sure, they are probably the highest paid, and in the brutal world of professional sport you need performances out of your best players. However, sometimes players can try too hard.

Kieron Pollard has starred for the Strikers in the past, however has had a shocking BBL6 with just 60 runs at an average of 12 and a low strike rate in the 120's. For the Hurricanes, Kumar Sangakkara has had a similar nightmare with just 68 runs at 17 with a strike rate of 121. Stuart Broad was brought in to add some strike power and aggression with the ball, and to be fair he hasn't been ordinary, however his form has been mixed. Broad has 6 wickets from 5 games at an average of 24 and a economy rate of 8.3. Which leaves us with Chris Jordon who had by far his best game of BBL6 last night with a fantastic 324 from 4 overs. Jordan is now the second highest wicket taker in BBL6, with 9 wickets in 5 games, however is still going at over 9 runs an over. That's not a bad return for Jordan who was brought in to add fire power, not necessarily bowl tightly.  With time running out for both the Strikers and Hurricanes in BBL6 they really need their overseas players to start firing more consistently if they are to feature in the finals. 

The Lurker Back With A Bang

The Lurker has had his struggles in 2017, however he was back with a bang last night claiming another double. The Lurker correctly predicted the Strikers would hit more horns than the Hurricanes, and also got a much needed victory with Adelaide beating Hobart by 5 wickets. The win cut short a mini crisis for The Lurker, having lost 4 of his past 6 games. The Lurker now sits at 13-5 exactly halfway through BBL6. Will he come home with a wet sail, or have we already seen the best of the Lurker.