Your ultimate guide to the first KFC BBL|13 match of 2024 as the Hurricanes host the Thunder at Blundstone Arena
All you need to know: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder
Match facts
Who: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder
What: Match 21, BBL|13
Where: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
When: Monday, January 1. Bat flip at 3.15pm AEDT, first ball at 4pm AEDT
How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Bruce Oxenford (field), Nathan Johnstone (field), Greg Davidson (third), Simon Burns (fourth), David Johnston (match referee)
Match squads
Hurricanes: Nathan Ellis (c), Corey Anderson (USA), Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Liam Guthrie, Sam Hain (England), Peter Hatzoglou, Sam Heazlett, Caleb Jewell, Chris Jordan (England), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright
Thunder: Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green (c), Alex Hales (England), Liam Hatcher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, William Salzmann, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha
Form guide
Hurricanes: LWLLW (most recent first)
It hasn't gone to plan for the Hurricanes so far this season who are sitting last in the BBL|13 standings with a 1-3 record after four matches. After starting strongly in their last match with the bat, with two of their top three – Caleb Jewell (45) and Mac Wright (33) – getting going, they suffered an all too familiar collapse as they slipped from 2-86 to 155 all out before the Stars chased down a rain-reduced target of 67 with three balls to spare. The Hurricanes will be after a stronger batting performance at home against the Thunder after similar collapses against the Scorchers and Sixers this season.
Thunder: DLWLL
The Thunder have also registered just one win in BBL|13 and sit one point above the Hurricanes in sixth courtesy of Saturday's washout with the Sixers at Showground Stadium. The Thunder have been in winning positions in each of their three losses and will need to put a complete performance together if they're to get their season back on track against the Hurricanes.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
Mac Wright has impressed at No.3 with scores of 63 (36) and 33 (19) since coming into the side to replace Ben McDermott who has missed the last two games with concussion. The right-hander boasts the second highest strike rate (174.55) of any batter so far in BBL|13, hitting seven sixes in his two matches. The Hurricanes face an intriguing selection dilemma with McDermott back available for the New Year's Day fixture after clearing concussion protocols.
In full flight, there's not too many better batters to watch in the Big Bash than Ollie Davies. He's showed glimpses of his destructive talent so far in BBL|13 with scores of 35, 32, 23, 23 and 15 but is yet to go on a post a big score. The 23-year-old scored 45 from 38 balls on his last trip to Hobart in BBL|13 and his average against the Hurricanes (116 runs at 29) is the second highest against any team in the competition (41.25 against the Scorchers).
Head-to-head
Overall: Hurricanes (11 wins), Thunder (8 wins)
At Blundstone Arena: Hurricanes (7 wins), Thunder (2 wins)
Most runs: Matthew Wade (425), Alex Hales (423), Ben McDermott (382), George Bailey (328), D'Arcy Short (274)
Most wickets: Daniel Sams (14), Gurinder Sandhu (12), D'Arcy Short (12), Nathan Ellis (11), Cameron Boyce (9)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Hobart Hurricanes will be aiming for back-to-back wins against the Sydney Thunder in the BBL for the first time since December 2018, following their five-wicket victory in their most recent meeting last season.
- Sydney Thunder have lost their last three BBL matches outside NSW – the last time the Thunder recorded a longer losing run outside their home state was a four-match span in January 2020.
- Batters have played and missed at 17 per cent of the Hobart Hurricanes' balls bowled this BBL season, the highest rate of any team in the competition and six percentage points more than the Sydney Thunder (11 per cent).
- Nathan McAndrew (Sydney Thunder) has bowled 72 deliveries in BBL|13, the most of any player yet to take a wicket in the campaign.
- Nikhil Chaudhary (Hobart Hurricanes) has a batting good connection rate of 77 per cent from 47 balls faced in BBL|13, the best of any player in the competition (minimum 25 balls faced).
What's on the line?
It's getting desperate for both the Hurricanes and Thunder who both sit in the lower half of the BBL|13 table with just one win at the halfway mark of the season. A win for either side would keep them in touch with the top four, with a Hurricanes victory lifting them off the bottom of the standings, above both the Renegades and Thunder.
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