Captain Matt Short insists the Strikers are playing good cricket despite sitting 1-3 in BBL|14
The Surge Pod: Strikers not panicking after slow start
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Adelaide Strikers captain Matt Short has backed his side to be a "team to beat" come the KFC BBL|14 Finals despite a tough start to the season.
The Strikers went down to Hobart Hurricanes by 11 runs at Adelaide Oval last night – their third loss in four games to start the campaign, with only the winless Melbourne Stars below them in the standings.
Short's side were still in with a shot of beating the Hurricanes until the final over when Jamie Overton hit 19 runs off Riley Meredith but fell short of the required 31 for victory.
Their other two losses against Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder have been off the last and second last ball respectively.
"I think the team's been going a lot better than what the results have shown," Short told The Surge Podcast.
"We're sitting at 1-3 at the moment but we could have easily won a couple more of those, so we've been playing some pretty good cricket.
"I think we're right up there. Obviously, (there's) still a few things to sharpen up on but I'm very confident that we can turn the season around and get some wins on the board.
"We've had a few close losses; it's not like we're getting flogged. We're in games and it's just a couple of small things that we need to sharpen up on."
Short, who has won the past two player of the tournament awards in the men's Big Bash, said this season he'd been drawn more to focusing on his captaincy.
It's also been a different lead in to the BBL this year for the 29-year-old than previous seasons where he was able to get a consistent block of state cricket for Victoria under his belt.
In late August, Short and his partner Madi welcomed their first child, Austin, before the right-hander jetted off to England to represent Australia in both white-ball formats.
He returned from international duties with an adductor complaint before playing a one-day and Sheffield Shield match for Victoria either side of ODI and T20 international series against Pakistan, hitting consecutive half-centuries in their Shield win over Queensland.
Short hit 52 in their loss to the Hurricanes, his best of the season so far after starting BBL|14 with scores of 7, 11 and 13.
"My form was a bit disappointing in the first few games so it was nice to score a few last night," he said.
"Results have gone my way the last couple of years and I've played some good cricket.
"I probably got a little bit complacent thinking it might just happen again.
"It just comes down to that balance and making sure my game is on point, making sure things are all good off field and all the boys know what to do and know what their role is and making sure they're feeling confident in themselves.
"'Painey' (Strikers coach Tim Paine) and I have a big role to play in that sense and I guess that's just all part of being a captain.
"It's not only your game that you have to focus on, (but also) how everyone else in the team is feeling and making sure that they're ready to go and able to play at their full potential.
"But I feel as a team, our balance is a little bit better through the middle. They've had to stand up with the bat and the lower order as well.
"I've got high confidence in the boys that if we can all string it together then we're going to be a hard team to beat."
The Strikers only win so far this season came against the Stars in Adelaide, where they play Perth Scorchers in their next match on December 31 for their annual New Year's Eve blockbuster.
KFC BBL|14 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SIX
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.657 | 0 | 6 |
|
2
REN
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.496 | 0 | 4 |
|
3
SCO
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.565 | 0 | 4 |
|
4
THU
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.349 | 0 | 4 |
|
5
HEA
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.27 | 0 | 4 |
|
6
HUR
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.415 | 0 | 4 |
|
7
STR
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.013 | 0 | 2 |
|
8
STA
|
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -1.016 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
You can watch the full episode of The Surge on YouTube with Adam White, Peter Handscomb and Matt Short or catch up with the latest clips in the Big Bash App.