Hobart Hurricanes 214 for 5 (McDermott 68*, Hope 37, Overton 2-27) won Adelaide Strikers 203 for 6 (M Short 52, D Short 41, Jordan 2-36) for 11 runs
The Hurricanes contributed through their batting order after being sent out on a typically flat Adelaide Oval surface. McDermott’s 68 off 34 balls, including five sixes, provided the finishing touches in the death overs to lift the Hurricanes to a massive total.
The result leaves the Strikers with a shaky 1-3 record, while the Hurricanes have won consecutive games after being beaten 74 by Melbourne Renegades in their season opener.
McDermott and David say goodbye after Owen’s early dismissal
After his quickfire century against Perth Scorchers, all eyes were on Mitch Owen, who quickly broke Matt Short’s turn to cover the boundary on the second ball of the innings.
Owen went all out on every delivery, but it proved to be his undoing as he lingered for a long time in an anti-climactic finish.
While Caleb Jewell struggled with his rhythm, Shai Hope followed Owen’s template and hit hard. He gave himself plenty of space moving around the crease and relied on the true bounce of the surface.
David arrived at an opportune time amid the surge in power as he looked to find better form after slumping of late, including a second-ball duck against Renegades.
David can sometimes hit too much early in his innings, but he gave himself time to adjust. It wasn’t long before David was in full flight as he rocked the speedy Henry Thornton with a thoroughbred shot that headed into the stands.
David failed to make it to the end after his whirlwind 14-ball 33 ended when quick Liam Scott cleaned him up with a full delivery.
McDermott had been deprived of the attack, but made up for lost time with a succession of powerful blows. He was inventive against spinners Lloyd Pope and Cameron Boyce with reverse sweeps and also used his feet effectively.
McDermott, standing at the crease and watching the ball closely, was in the zone as he lifted the Hurricanes past 200.
Overton executes it magnificently
On an unforgiving surface for bowlers, Overton leaned back and bit. He claimed the wickets of Hope and Nikhil Chaudhary with short deliveries that outpaced them.
The strikers’ attack had no answer for the Hurricanes at the back, except for Overton, who in the penultimate over bowled a succession of sly, slower, fuller deliveries to concede just eight runs.
Overton’s execution under pressure was a feature of a magnificent performance.
Ellis steps up in key moments
Ellis made another important contribution when he bowled brilliantly in the 14th over amid the surge of energy. He bowled full, accurate deliveries in trademark style to rope in Alex Ross and Ollie Pope and ensure the Strikers fell far behind in the required run rate.
David also made a significant impact with a brilliant diving catch at mid-wicket to dismiss Ross and celebrated enthusiastically.
Skipper finds a way but it’s not enough
The forwards faced a daunting chase but have achieved similar results before at home.
They needed Matt Short to fire as he only scored 31 runs in three innings this season due to difficulties in the white-ball series against Pakistan.
He seemed nervous at first and was hit in the pads by speedster Riley Meredith, but survived. Short made his move with consecutive sixes off the quick Billy Stanlake in the second over, but was soon overtaken by his opening partner D’Arcy Short as they put on 49 runs in the powerplay.
They kept going and cleared boundaries until D’Arcy Short edged Stanlake to deep square leg after a spirited 41 off 22 balls. After a cameo from Chris Lynn, the pressure was on Short, who scored the second-fastest BBL half-century of his career off 27 balls.
But Short went down soon after and Strikers’ chase ran out of steam despite Overton’s late strike. The forwards’ season is on the line ahead of a pivotal clash against the Scorchers in their traditional New Year’s Eve home game.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
