Big Bash Daily: Hurricanes end three-match losing streak with victory over Sydney Thunder

Wicket-keeper Ben McDermott smashed 96 off 56 balls to star for the Hurricanes who recovered from a slow start to overcome second-placed Sydney Thunder

McDermott narrowly misses century as Hurricanes end three-match losing streak

Hobart Hurricanes batsman Ben McDermott missed out on scoring the first century of BBL10 by four runs as he steered his side to a six-wicket victory over Sydney Thunder.

The wicket-keeper smashed 96 off 56 deliveries, including eight fours and five sixes, before being caught by Oliver Davies one boundary short of the milestone knock.

McDermott had previously taken two crucial catches during Sydney Thunder’s innings as Hurricanes recovered from a poor start to earn a valuable four points. 

After Alex Hales and Usman Khawaja raced to 50 off 34 balls, Scott Boland bounced back from his second-over pummelling to take three wickets in the eighth over (Hales, Oliver Davies, Khawaja) and wrestle back momentum. Sam Billings hit his own 34-ball 50 to steady the ship for Thunder before Ben Cutting and Daniel Sams took 34 runs from the last three overs to set Hobart 178 to win.

Hurricanes started their own innings as poorly as the first, losing Will Jacks and D’Arcy Short inside the powerplay. However, McDermott and Dawid Malan added 109 runs off just over 10 overs to rescue Hurricanes’ innings. The pair secured a potentially vital Bash Boost point and produced a 31-run power surge before Malan was caught by Nathan McAndrew for 42 (28) in the 13th over.

McDermott, who had been dropped by Adam Milne one ball earlier, departed with his side 13-runs shy of victory, leaving captain Peter Handscomb and Tim David (who narrowly avoided being run-out first ball) to hit the winning runs with 12 balls to spare.

'He's put that into Lake Burley Griffin'

This was ENORMOUS from Ben McDermott! #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/SHEnclPRA2

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 18, 2021

Oliver Davies gamble doesn’t pay off as pressure mounts on Thunder

Losing Hales in the eighth over, Thunder altered their batting line-up and sent in Oliver Davies at number three. The 20-year old smashed five consecutive sixes against Melbourne Renegades earlier in the tournament and Thunder backed the youngster to produce similar fireworks at the Manuka Oval.

Given the rate at which Hales and Khawaja had been scoring, swapping the patient play of Callum Ferguson for the boom-boom batting of Davies made sense on paper. Unfortunately, facing Boland in a purple patch, Davies departed for a first-ball duck after being caught behind by McDermott.

Davies’ dismissal set the tone for another sub-par performance from Thunder who have now won just one of their last five matches after previously winning five in a row. The Sydney outfit remain second, courtesy of their superior net run rate, but are now only three points clear of seventh-placed Adelaide Strikers.

With three games remaining – two crucial matches against Strikers and Sydney Smash II – Thunder need to turn their form around quickly or risk missing out on the playoffs in dramatic fashion.

^{Oliver Davies edges the ball towards Ben McDermott to depart for a first-ball duck}

Renegades and Thunder dominate Brain Lara’s Australia u23 side

Despite the team being well adrift at the bottom of the table, Brian Lara selected three Melbourne Renegades players in his fantasy Australia under-23 side. Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey and Will Sutherland all made the cut as the West Indian legend selected his XI during Seven Cricket’s coverage of Thunder v Hurricanes.

Sydney Thunder also had three players selected, with Oliver Davies, Arjun Nair and 19-year old spin sensation Tanveer Sangha catching Lara’s eye.

Golden Bat leader Josh Philippe (Sydney Sixers) and Brisbane Heat’s Max Bryant are included as the side’s opening pair. The duo have scored a combined 664 runs in BBL10, including 75 fours and 16 sixes.

All-rounder Aaron Hardie is the sole inclusion for Perth Scorchers while Adelaide Strikers’ leading wicket-taker Wes Agar (17 wickets at 7.96) and Brisbane Heat’s Xavier Bartlett (nine wickets at 8.19) complete the bowling attack.

However, Lara took the chance to criticise the lack of opportunities for young players in the competition, citing the example of Shubman Gill in the IPL who, at 21, has played for Kolkata Knight Riders since 2018 and made his international debut in 2019.

"It’s not much. The BBL should try to encourage a lot more younger players," remarked Lara. "The IPL has guys [of] 19 and 20. Shubman Gill, who’s playing Test cricket now, has played two or three years [of IPL]."

^{Josh Philippe (L) and Wes Agar (R) were both selected in Brian Lara's Australia under-23 side}

Second place at stake in Brisbane Heat v Perth Scorchers

There’s set to be a major shake-up of the overall standings after Tuesday’s clash between Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat. Scorchers can climb up to second in the table with victory in Melbourne while a four-point victory for Heat will catapult them above Sydney Thunder.

Scorchers will he hoping for a return to winning ways after losing to Sydney Sixers on January 16. The Perth side won five consecutive matches before their defeat in Canberra but are yet to produce consistent results away from home.

• Heat have also been poor on the road, winning just two of their five matches away from the Gabba, making this fixture on neutral territory hard to predict. However, Brisbane do have an ace up their sleeve in the form of Morne Morkel. The South African veteran featured as an x-factor player against Renegades and could make his full debut against Scorchers.