Strikers aim to erase fresh wounds with first win of the season

On Sunday, Hobart Hurricanes defeated Adelaide Strikers by 11 runs thereby making it the first time ever of them overcoming the Strikers in back-to-back games in BBL history. Hurricanes had defeated Strikers in the second clash of the double round-robin fixture of the 2019/20 season by 10 runs. 

On Tuesday (December 15), they will have the opportunity to extend the streak to three in three. The margin of defeat - 11 runs - does not reflect Hurricanes’ domination in that game. Apart from a 61-run 10th wicket partnership between Daniel Worrall and Danny Briggs, they were all over the Strikers, whom they caught napping in their first game of the season. 

The Strikers will hope the rust has shredded and that they will get off the mark on the points table. 

Strikers’ trouble in striking with the ball

The Strikers have a bowling problem which was apparent in their first game. Worrall and Briggs were brilliant with the bat but let the team down in their primary role as bowlers. 

Since the 2018/19 season of BBL, Worrall has the second-worst bowling strike-rate for a fast bowler with at least 5 wickets in the first 15 overs of the innings. 

Peter Siddle also makes it to the top 10 list which makes the Strikers’ bowling attack not penetrative enough if the batsmen are not after them. 

They also need to rethink Briggs’ role in the squad. Prior to their previous game, our preview mentioned that a contest lay between Briggs and the top-order of Hurricanes which has two left-handers. Briggs lost that contest, conceding 28 in the 13 balls he bowled and did not finish his quota. He will turn up against D’Arcy Short and Colin Ingram again, both of whom are in good form to take him apart. Therefore, currently, the Strikers rely a little too much on Rashid Khan to strike. Although, Short and Ingram staying for long will disturb Rashid’s rhythm as well.

On the other hand, the Hurricanes are in great bowling form. Their pace attack has been a revelation with James Faulkner, Riley Meredith and Nathan Ellis taking the opposition by storm in consecutive games. 

Tim David, the star from Singapore

The Singapore international, Tim David, has added great value to the Hurricanes train. Twice in two matches, he has provided the finishing touch to the innings - 58 from 33 balls against Sydney Sixers and then a significant 21 not out from 13 balls against the Strikers. He has struck pacers at a strike-rate of 173.5 and the two overs of spin at 166.7. 

Hurricanes already have their top-order in form. Each one of Will Jacks, Short and Ingram have appeared to hit the ball well and David in the end can further add to Strikers’ headaches. 

Where do the returning stars bat?

Both sides are welcoming their star players - Ben McDermott for the Hurricanes and Alex Carey for the Strikers - from Australia A duties. Both have been an integral part of the squad for a number of seasons and it will be interesting to see how the two sides accommodate them. 

The dilemma lies in the fact that McDermott and Carey have underwhelming strike-rates at the beginning of their innings. McDermott has always been a middle-order player but the addition of Peter Handscomb - who batted at number 4 in his absence - might push him down to number 5. Also, is it too many slow-starters in the same middle-order? In a similar vein, Carey likes to open in T20s. With Phil Salt drafted in, he batted at 3 and 4 last season. He will also have to bat out of position. 

Probable XIs

Hobart Hurricanes:

Given they have won two in two, any changes other than McDermott’s inclusion looks unlikely. 

Will Jacks, D’Arcy Short, Colin Ingram, Peter Handscomb (c/wk), Ben McDermott, Tim David, James Faulkner, Nathan Ellis, Johan Botha, Scott Boland, Riley Meredith

Adelaide Strikers:

Carey walks into the side as captain and takes the gloves from Harry Nielsen. It remains to be seen if they also give themselves an extra bowling option in Cameron Valente. Ryan Gibson will have to warm the bench in that case. 

Jake Weatherald, Phil Salt, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (c/wk), Jonathan Wells, Ryan Gibson/Cameron Valente, Rashid Khan, Peter Siddle, Wes Agar, Daniel Worrall, Danny Briggs