Ludeman, Dean blitz Hobart in big-hitting special

An absolute batting onslaught from Tim Ludeman and Jono Dean, and a vintage display of express pace bowling from cult hero Shaun Tait has propelled the Adelaide Strikers to a stunning win over Hobart Hurricanes in front of a sell-out New Year's Eve crowd at Adelaide Oval.

Ludeman and Dean both blazed 54, from 33 and 34 balls respectively, and belted 10 sixes between them in a devastating display of T20 batting to see the home side surge to an eight-wicket win with 33 balls to spare. 

Dean hit a Strikers record six sixes - including four from his last six deliveries - and Ludeman continued his amazing form at the top of the order to give the 43,288 strong crowd some serious entertainment despite the one-sided nature of the contest.

Incredibly, Dean was only in the side after the late withdrawal of Brad Hodge, who was hit on the arm by bowling coach Joe Dawes in the nets and failed to recover in time for the contest.

Earlier, Tait took 3-22 and pushed toward 150kph as the Hurricanes struggled to find any sort of momentum after winning the toss and electing to bat first, eventually reaching 8-136 from their 20 overs thanks to an outstanding rear-guard half-century from Jonathan Wells. 

Alex Hales (29) and Tim Paine (12) looked to be steering the visitors to a recovery after Kane Richardson had Ben Dunk caught at point from the second ball of the match, but their 41-run stand came to an abrupt halt when Ben Laughlin dismissed Paine in his first over. 

That triggered a dramatic collapse of 6-37, with Tait (3-22) the chief destroyer as he ran through the Hurricanes middle order while part-time spinner Craig Simmons and leg-spinner Adam Zampa stemmed the flow of runs.

Wells then set about virtually single-handedly guiding Hobart to a moderate total, crashing an unbeaten 58 from 36 deliveries.