Team effort keeping Hurricanes in title race

Hobart Hurricanes captain Nathan Ellis credits the depth of the Hurricanes squad in helping the side make their second BBL Final.

The Hurricanes held on to defeat the Sydney Sixers in the The Qualifier to lock in their place and win hosting rights for the The Final.

Ellis said his side “never felt too far out of the game” due to the team’s depth with both bat and ball which was on display against the Sixers.

After being sent in to bat first, the Hurricanes managed to post a total of 173 for the Sixers to chase down which was strongly defended by the ‘Canes bowlers.

“I think it's a testament to our squad management, I think with bat and ball, we feel like we can defend. We're a very defensive bowling line up and I think with the bat, we bat so deep, and we got some of the best finishes in the world in Timmy (David) and Wadey now at the moment too,” he said.

“And that was the conversations last night, defending with the ball, but it's been the conversation the whole way through the competition. Here (at Ninja Stadium) we could feel like we could chase anything in the last three or four overs.”

The Hurricanes surge up the ladder and place in the final has been helped by a breakout season by opener Mitch Owen, who finished third for runs scored this season. 

While Owen is the only Hurricanes player to feature in the top five of the major stats leaderboards, Tim David has contributed strongly with the bat and Riley Meredith has taken crucial wickets across the season.

Ellis said seeing so many players step up across the season is “a point of pride” as captain.

“It's something that I've really focused on, and something that I've said 1000 times now is you look at the runs and the wicket tallies, and you don't see many Hurricanes up the top of them, but then you look at the ladder and you see us at the top.

“It is something I speak about a lot is when players get the opportunity to put their thumbprint on the game, they take it with both hands. And I think we've done that, and everyone's done that when they've had the opportunity. Team performances are a really amazing thing in T20 cricket and not relying on one individual or two individuals is a really big pro in the Hurricanes column.”

The depth of the playing list extends also to the leadership group of the Hurricanes with Ellis crediting them with helping him improve as a captain since taking the reins in BBL|13.

"I lean on Timmy and Wadey and Riley Meredith and Ben McDermott a lot, and I'd be silly not to and Chris Jordan as well. We've got so much experience that it's not just my team,” he said.

“It's our team, we’re the leaders of this team. And it's something that I am really passionate about, not being a sort of an autocratic leader, sort of be quite collaborative and share the accountability too which is nice.”

The Hurricanes captain faces one final hurdle to lifting up their first ever BBL trophy with their opponent to be decided in The Challenger in Sydney on Friday.

KFC BBL|14 finals schedule

Qualifier: Hobart Hurricanes beat Sydney Sixers by 12 runs

Knockout: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars, Engie Stadium (Wednesday, January 22, 7.30pm AEDT)

Challenger: Sydney Sixers v winner of Knockout, SCG (Friday, January 24, 7.15pm AEDT)

Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Monday, January 27, 7.15pm AEDT)