Hobart Hurricanes host Sydney Thunder in a must-win Eliminator final at Blundstone Arena for the chance to face the Strikers on Saturday
Canes, Thunder make changes for Eliminator final
Hobart Hurricanes will need to show they are as adept at chasing as they are at setting a total after Sydney Thunder captain Callum Ferguson inserted the resurgent hosts in their 'Eliminator' final at Blundstone Arena tonight.
Both sides have made one change to their respective sides for the knockout clash, with the Thunder electing not to go with the spin-heavy strategy they employed in last week's defeat in Hobart.
Instead they have brought in one-time Test squad member Brendan Doggett for Gurinder Sandhu, while the Hurricanes have recalled allrounder Simon Milenko for overseas batsman David Miller, who has been called up by South Africa to play England.
The Hurricanes stormed into fourth spot by winning their final three regular-season games, batting first in each of those matches.
That run included the most recent meeting between the Thunder and the Hurricanes at the same venue last Friday, when the hosts won by 57 runs after posting 6-185 against a three-pronged Thunder spin attack.
The Thunder won the other encounter during the season at the Sydney Showgrounds Stadium earlier this month, chasing down Hobart's 6-162 in the final over.
But that win was one of only three during the Thunder's past nine games in a stuttering finish to the season, which saw them scrape into fifth spot after defeating the Scorchers in the final over of their last regular-season game.
The Brisbane Heat’s defeat to the Melbourne Renegades then confirmed the Thunder had qualified for the finals.
The winner of the first game of the revamped finals system will only have two days to recharge before heading to Adelaide to face the third-placed Strikers on Saturday evening.
Hurricanes XI: D'Arcy Short, Matthew Wade (c), Mac Wright, Ben McDermott (wk), George Bailey, Simon Milenko, James Faulkner, Clive Rose, Nathan Ellis, Qais Ahmad, Scott Boland
Thunder XI: Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson (c), Alex Ross, Arjun Nair, Chris Morris, Daniel Sams, Jay Lenton (wk), Chris Tremain, Jono Cook, Brendan Doggett