BBL 1O | Match Report: Scorchers fetch fifth consecutive win, make light work of Hurricanes at Perth

The Perth Scorchers continued their scintillating form in the 10th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL), winning their fifth game on the trot as they defeated the Hobart Hurricanes by a huge margin of nine wickets with 22 balls to spare. The winning runs were scored as Jason Roy hooked one to fine leg and the ball fell short of Sandeep Lamichhanne stationed there for just that sort of a shot. The fielder made a complete mess of it, unable to even find the ball. That, however, quite literally summed up Hurricanes’ day in the office, where nothing went their way. 

Englishmen Lead the Way for Scorchers

It was the two Englishmen in Roy and Liam Livingstone who nearly saw their team through before a little lapse in concentration saw Livingstone get caught just before the victory was ensured. But before that the pair added 123 runs for the opening stand, the second-highest partnership in this edition after Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran’s 125 runs partnership against the Sydney Sixers. 

The two openers took the game away from the Hurricanes quite early as chasing a target of 140, they never looked like being hurried and played their shots freely. While Livingstone made 54 off 39, Roy, who was adjudged Man of the Match, scored a balanced 52-ball 74. This was also the first fifty of Roy in this season of the BBL. 

Only Chance for Hurricanes Went Begging

Having got to a very average total, Hurricanes’ bowlers started off nicely and got past the edge of Roy and Livingstone early on. This pressure created by ‘Canes' pace brigade-induced a mistake from Livingstone when he was naught. The catch went straight to D’Arcy Short at the point, it was a dolly but Short was in motion when the ball reached him and as a result, he dropped a sitter. From there onwards, no chances were given to the Hurricanes whatsoever. 

Richardson and the Scorcher's Bowling Attack

As was expected before the game, it would be a fight between Scorchers’ bowlers and the Hurricanes' batting. Scorchers, however, got the better of the visitors as the highest wicket-taker in the league so far, Jhye Richardson, broke the opening partnership record of highest run-getter in the series Ben McDermott and D’Arcy Short. Richardson won the battle of the number one by getting McDermott played on in just the third over of the game. 

Soon after Dawid Malan was choked as well. Having scored not even a single run of five deliveries, Malan tried to break free and hit one in the air which was gulped at mid-on quite easily off Jason Behrendorff. The situation of the Hurricanes got so worse that even after 8 overs they just had 30-odd runs on the board and soon, skipper Peter Handscomb too got out to make it even worse. 

Mitchell Owen - a Bright Young Prospect

The only positive out of this game for the Hurricanes was 19 years old Micthell Owen who showed glimpses of the potential that he has, hitting established bowlers like Andrew Tye and Richardson for fours, on deliveries that were hard to hit. The youngster made 11 off seven deliveries and looked like a busy player who wanted to dominate, no matter what. Although in the bowling department, he got a bit of a tonking as he gave away 18 runs in the only over that he bowled in the game. 

Apart from Owen, Short getting back in form and Tim David finding his mojo with big hits was also a plus point that Hurricanes must utilize in the next few games. 

What's Next?

With three losses in the last five games and three of them in a row, the Hurricanes for the first time in the tournament find themselves in a worry. Now they don’t have any other option but to win at least three of their last four games to give themselves a shot at qualifying for the Playoffs. They now have another four days to think about and inspire themselves to face the Thunder at the Manuka Oval on 18th January. 

Scorchers, on the other hand, would look to continue on their winning trail as they face Sixers at Manuka Oval on 16th. 

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