BBL7 - Hurricanes v Thunder Preview (Plus The 5-5 Lurker's Pick and Bank)

Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder @ Blundstone Arena
 
Head to Head History - Hobart Hurricanes 5, Sydney Thunder 1
 
Last 5 - Hobart Hurricanes 4, Sydney Thunder 1
 
Hobart Hurricanes 13 Man Squad - George Bailey (C), Dan Christian, Cameron Boyce, Alex Doolan, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills, Tom Rogers, Clive Rose, D'Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Matthew Wade,
 
Sydney Thunder 13 Man Squad - Shane Watson (c), Kurtis Patterson, Aiden Blizzard, Callum Ferguson, Ben Rohrer, Ryan Gibson, Joe Buttler +, Chris Green, Fawad Ahmed, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Mitch McClenaghan, Andrew Fekete
 
Preview - It's a battle of two desperate teams down in Tassie as the Hurricanes host the Thunder tonight. The Hurricanes lost their opening game by 7 wickets at the same venue and have had a full 9 days to prepare for this their second game. The Thunder have dropped back-to-back games, after winning their opener, and will be desperate to avoid three straight road losses, so there is a lot of play for in this one. The Thunder finally broke through for a win over the Hurricanes last year at the sixth attempt, with the Hurricanes heavily dominating the head-to-head standings between the two franchises. 
 
Big Batting Battle - Ben McDermott v Shane Watson - I have opted for both Number 3’s here, with both these boys capable of clearing the ropes square of the wicket at the small Blundstone Arena. Watson was in imperious form with his 56 from 34 balls against the Brisbane Heat in his last start, as he continued to carry the Thunder batting line up. This score gives him 145 runs from his first three games at an average just under 50. McDermott looked in good touch in his first innings of BBL7, scoring 34 from 24 balls including two steepling sixes. 
 
Big Bowling Battle - Jofra Archer V Mitch McClenaghan - Jofra Archer showed great potential on debut for the Hurricanes with a highly impressive spell of 2/17 from 4 overs. Archers bowled with great pace and bounce and will certainly hurry up oppositions batsman who have not seen a lot of him this season. Mitch McClenaghan is a genuine strike bowler and whilst he might be expensive at times he has picked up 2 wickets in each of his opening 3 games with his aggressive and in your face approach. 
 
Ground Dynamic - Blundstone Arena - Despite the Hurricanes only scoring 164, I thought the wicket at Blundestone in the opener down there was worthy of a score of 180. The Renegades cruised to 3/165 with 9 balls to spare, and they did that in second gear with the run rate well in hand. I think the team batting first will be looking for a score of around 175-180 to feel they are ahead of the game. 
 
THE LURKER'S PICK (5-5) - Hobart Hurricanes "It's been a tough couple of days for The Prophet  and give game is a genuine clan flip between two battling sides. I'll go with the Canes at home to lift and throw us a bone" 
 
THE LURKER'S 10-UNIT BANK (Running Tally = -29 Units)

2.5 Units on George Bailey to score 25+ runs @ $1.90

2.5 Units on Callum Ferguson to score 25+ runs @ $2.30

2 Units on Mitch McClenaghan most wickets for the Thunder @ $3.75 

2 Units on the Hurricanes to win by 1-20 runs or 1/4 wickets @ $6 

1 Unit on Jofra Archer man of the match @ $13