The race for the final spot came to an end with Stars beating the Hurricanes in the last home-and-away game to qualify
BBL|14 finals race: Stars qualify with incredible fightback
Melbourne Stars have beaten table-toppers Hobart Hurricanes to incredibly qualify for the finals in the fourth spot.
Hobart will host the KFC BBL|14 Qualifier on Tuesday night against Sydney Sixers at Ninja Stadium after a washed-out Sydney Smash locked the top spot for the Hurricanes.
The result also means Sydney Thunder will host the Knockout the following evening as they locked the third spot.
The Thunder will take on the Stars, who are now on a winning streak of five games.
KFC BBL|14 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HUR
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -0.12 | 0 | 15 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.156 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
THU
|
10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0.34 | 0 | 12 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.135 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
SCO
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.219 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
REN
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.139 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
HEA
|
10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -0.831 | 0 | 7 |
|
8
STR
|
10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -0.122 | 0 | 6 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Check out our team-by-team guide below to see where your club finished the race to the top four
1. Hobart Hurricanes (15 points) 🔒
A win over the Heat on Thursday, their seventh win in a row, which is a club record in the BBL, had secured the Hurricanes a top two spot. Caleb Jewell stepped up on Thursday with an impressive 76 in their win over the Heat where the Hurricanes chased down 6-201 to win by five wickets.
Friday's Sydney Smash ending without a result further cemented their spot on the top, giving them the hosting rights for Tuesday night's Qualifier. However, the Hurricanes have given up the momentum as they ran into a determined Stars unit in their final home-and-away match on Sunday.
2. Sydney Sixers (14 points) 🔒
The Sixers' hopes of finishing on top and hosting the Qualifier were washed away by the rain as Friday's Sydney Smash ended without a result, leaving them with 14 points from their 10 games – one behind the Hurricanes, who still have a game to go.
They will now face the Hurricanes at Ninja Stadium on Tuesday with a spot and hosting rights for the Final up for grabs.
3. Sydney Thunder (13 points) 🔒
A huge win over the Scorchers at home on Monday night secured the Thunder's place in the BBL|14 finals, a remarkable turnaround from a year earlier where they finished bottom of the standings with only one win. However, the washed-out Sydney Smash at the SCG on Friday took away their chance to fight for a top two finish and a double chance in the playoffs.
David Warner's leadership and form with the bat has been instrumental in the Thunder overcoming a series of injuries and finishing third in the home-and-away season with as many as six players from their original 18-man squad sidelined at various times. They will now host the Knockout against the fourth-placed team at the Engie Stadium on Wednesday, 22 January.
4. Melbourne Stars (10 points) 🔒
The Stars have done the unthinkable by winning five do-or-die games in a row to qualify for the finals. The season has been a tale of two halves for the Stars who lost all of their first five.
That horror start had left them with less than a 4 per cent chance of reaching the finals and needing to win their final five home-and-away matches to stay in the hunt. A remarkable turnaround led by Glenn Maxwell – as well as teams around them stumbling – has sealed a first finals appearance in five seasons.
Maxwell was again at the forefront as the Stars defeated table-toppers Hurricanes in their final match by a big 40-run margin as he hit his third 50+ score in a row.
5. Perth Scorchers (8 points) ❌
The Scorchers had given themselves a chance to sneak through to the finals by defeating the Strikers with a big-enough margin to jump into fourth place on Saturday. However, they will have to miss out as the Stars defeated the Hurricanes on Sunday to leave them behind on the ladder and take the final spot.
The Scorchers lost control of their destiny when they hit a rough patch of four consecutive losses in the middle of the season. They were also on the wrong side of the comings and goings from Australia's Test squad this summer with key players Jhye Richardson and Josh Inglis both missing matches due to national duties and injuries, while Mitch Marsh stayed in Perth to rest after his solitary appearance against the Renegades.
This is just the third time in the league's 14-year history that the Scorchers haven't qualified for finals.
6. Melbourne Renegades (8 points) ❌
The Renegades somehow managed to stay in hunt after chasing down Heat's 196 at the Marvel Stadium on Saturday, eliminating the defending champions in the process. Batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk found his form after a tough season to fire a 95 off 46.
However, their relief lasted only a few hours as the Scorchers defeated the Strikers and improved their NRR to jump over the Renegades, thereby eliminating them from the race. With this result, the Renegades will miss the finals for a fifth time in six seasons since winning the BBL|08 title.
7. Brisbane Heat (7 points) ❌
The Heat's hopes of defending their crown came to an end with their loss to the Renegades at the Marvel Stadium on Saturday. Despite putting a massive 196 on board, the Heat bowlers failed to defend it as Renegades' Jake Fraser-McGurk made a stunning return to form to blow them away.
It made the Heat the first side to be eliminated from the finals race.
8. Adelaide Strikers (6 points) ❌
The Strikers have been eliminated from the finals race after their five-wicket loss to the Scorchers at the Optus Stadium. The Strikers posted 161 and needed to restrict their opponents less than 146 to stay alive in the competition. However, they allowed the home team to get to the target with 22 balls to spare to finish the season as the wooden-spooners.