The Hobart Hurricanes took revenge on defending champions Sydney Strikers by 44 points, in an effort led by an incredible shot from Matthew Wade.
After losing the corresponding BBL shock earlier this week, the Hurricanes refused to give in on their momentum, with Wade set to complete a half-century with just 19 deliveries – the fourth fastest half-century in the history of BBL.
This is the Sixers’ first loss of the season, as the Hurricanes have now tied the big book of wins and losses at 1-1 – recap tonight’s meeting in our blog below!
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The Hurricanes won the toss and opted to strike first, with the team looking to seal their first win of the season after falling to the Sixers in Game 1 of the season.
Jordan Thompson will return to the team after completing his period of isolation after coming into contact with a Covid-19 case.
He will take Jordan Cox’s place in the squad, while Scott Boland, Harry Brook (both internationals), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith and Mitch Owen (injured) remain unavailable.
Sean Abbott’s return for the Sixers should also be a big factor in the game.
Abbott is back after missing a match to be with his partner for the birth of their first child.
“He’s a huge one for the Sixers, I can’t see anyone playing better than him in the world right now,” Australian cricketer Alyssa Healy told Fox Cricket.
“He’s going to love these conditions, he loves playing here at SCG and he’s a huge one for the Sixers.”
Abbott will also continue part of BBL history – he is two wickets away from leveling Ben Laughlin for the most wickets taken in the BBL.
Matthew Wade had a phenomenal start to the game for the Hurricanes, hitting 29 of his first 12 balls, including four consecutive limits in the second round, ultimately taking Tom Curran for 20 more.
Such was Wade’s dominance in the crease that he and his batting partner D’Arcy Short set up a 50-point partnership despite Short only facing three balls.
Soon after, Wade cemented half a century of his 19th delivery – the fastest ever recorded by a Hurricanes player, with seven fours and two sixes.
It marked the fourth fastest half-century in BBL history.
To make matters worse for the Sixers, the team decided to only use one spinner, with Wade reveling against other Hurricanes bowlers.
“You just have to laugh, sometimes you can’t do anything once a dough is thrown, they’re really hard to pull off and whatever you throw seems to almost disappear,” Healy said as Wade continued to pile up on the tracks.
In an attempt to stem the bleeding, the Sixers Bowling Squad slowed the ball, which was successful in slowing Wade.
He fired soon after, however, throwing a few more sixes as he ran towards the ton.
“The floor just isn’t big enough for Matthew Wade tonight, especially at his hip. He’s just unbeatable out there tonight, ”Healy said.
Soon after, Wade was finally sacked after a delivery from Tom Curran was caught by Jordan Silk, ending his innings after 93 runs on 46 balls.
“I know we’ve seen some incredible innings in this form of play of the caliber of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers, but no one could have played as well as Matthew Wade did tonight,” Brad Haddin told About Wade’s shot. .
With Wade gone, Short began to improve his game, reaching half a century in the early 18th century.
He’s built a strong partnership with Caleb Jewell to push the Hurricanes above the 200 point mark, setting a tough 213 total for the Sixers to chase.
The Sixers began to build up solid form in the crease, but weren’t able to replicate the brilliant running rate cemented by Wade for the Hurricanes.
A brief delay in the rain made things more difficult for the Sixers, which brought DLS into the equation and reduced the innings to 18 overs.
James Vince was sent off after a strong opening partnership with Josh Phillipe, clearing the way for striker Henriques to enter the game.
The Hurricanes missed a few golden chances with Sandeep Lamichhane bowling in the 10th, as Phillippe and Henriques were left out in the space of three balls.
Another pair of missed wickets threatened to let the Sixers gain momentum, but Philippe was sent off via a nice Jordan Thompson grab to give the Hurricanes a long-awaited breakthrough and rob the Sixers of their running scorer. ‘fire arms.
The brilliant flashes of Henriques and Dan Christian helped keep the Sixers somewhat in the game, but the total thrown by Wade proved too important to overcome.
Recap the match in our blog below! Can’t see the blog? Press here
