Adelaide Strikers dominated the reverse fixture against Hobart Hurricanes, sealing the victory by five wickets on Tuesday, 15 December, in the eighth encounter of the Big Bash League (BBL). After bowling out Hobart for just 146 runs, courtesy some stunning pace bowling by Peter Siddle, Wes Agar, and Daniel Worrall, the batting unit, especially Alex Carey and Jake Weatherald, made sure that Strikers complete their victory without sweating too much over it.
The match was highlighted by; Siddle’s stunning 5-wicket haul, first X-Factor substitution in world cricket, the amount of purchase pacers got on the wicket, and some bizarre tactical choices made in the field.
Hobart Batting - As Messy As It Gets
Sent in to bat first, most teams in the world do not recover after losing their entire top order inside four overs in a T20 game. Hobart didn’t either, but their story was slightly odd. After losing three early wickets against some quality pace bowling by the Strikers, Hobart recovered extremely well, managing to put 89 runs on the board in the first 11 overs, courtesy the counter-attack from Colin Ingram and Ben McDermott. Both batsmen worked very hard to negotiate the movement early on and then started piling up the pressure on spinners to create a comeback of sorts for Hobart.
And then, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!
Three tactical choices took the game away from Hobart – Subbing off the experienced Johan Botha for rookie Mac Wright, pushing in form Tim David down the order, and then, the most important of all, not taking the power surge when their batsmen, Mc Dermott and Ingram, looked in great touch.
This resulted in an absolute mess, killing the entire momentum of their batting. While substitute Wright failed to provide the impetus, these decisions were especially hard on David, who looked in good nick in the first two matches.
Coming in to bat in the 16th over, David had no option but to go after every delivery and managed to score 24 off 16 deliveries, before chopping on a short one from Peter Siddle, who registered his best figures in T20 matches, picking up five wickets for just 16 runs.
Hobart lost their last 5 wickets in the final three overs out of which two were part of the 'Power Surge'. Once that was done, it was just a waiting game, and Colin Ingram agreed that the bowlers can do very little with so few runs on the board. In the end, the Strikers won the game with eight balls to spare, just knocking the ball around the ground.
Aurora Stadium, Launceston
Any wicket that does a bit in the opening overs in a T20 game, is a great leveller. Choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, Strikers ran circles around the Hurricanes' batsmen. All three of their fast bowlers, Daniel Worrall, Peter Siddle, and Wes Agar struck in their respective opening overs. The wicket offered pace, bounce, and a fair bit of carry, which both teams used to their benefit. But it was the Siddle-led Strikers pace attack that pooled in all their experience to dismiss eight out of all 10 wickets.
The pitch was so pace-friendly that Strikers decided to sub off last match hero Danny Briggs to bring in an extra batter, just in case they needed it.
In sharp contrast, the spin department failed miserably with both Matt Renshaw and Danny Briggs going for 15 an over, giving away 45 runs between them.
James Faulkner too got decent purchase from the wicket in the second innings, coming into bowl the first over. He shaped the ball in with his tweaked action and got two early wickets but failed to capitalise on them thanks to some good batting by Alex Carey and Jake Weatherald.
The Aurora Stadium, if it manages to hold on to this type of wicket, will be a big talking point because the ball will move, and it will put batsmen, and the think tanks of various teams, in trouble. On the odd day it does not, viewers might just see another set of substitutions.
How Not to Use a Power Surge
Both teams, Strikers and Hurricanes, made awful use of the Power Surge. While Hobart did not take theirs when their best batsmen on the day, McDermott and Ingram, were batting in full flow, Strikers, for some odd reason, kept it on hold with barely any runs to chase.
In case of Hobart, not taking the Surge meant that they lost every bit of momentum in the second part of the innings. The Strikers, on the other hand, missed a sure shot chance to increase their NRR after conceding the bonus point to the opposition team.
Despite an underwhelming encounter, there is a lot to learn from this game. Take for instance the X-Factors. Both of them failed and it only fuels the fire of the opinion that this will be the least popular of all the innovations brought in BBL this season. It has been mentioned above a couple of times that it is foolish to save the Power Surge overs waiting for the correct time. A total of four overs were pushed back today and barely any runs came from them. It will be interesting to see in the next couple of games of the ongoing season, especially on this ground, as to how the teams actually go about things, and hopefully, it would take away the spotlight so that spectators can actually enjoy performances like Siddle's every night.
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