Tim David boosted the Hobart Hurricanes after seamer Nathan Ellis scored a hat-trick as they beat the collapsed Sydney Thunder by five wickets at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.
After deciding to hit on a sunny day, the Thunder never recovered from the firing of David Warner’s opening duck. Quikse Ellis and Riley Meredith combined for him to take six wickets while up-and-coming left-arm list his spinner Patrick Dooley won his three scalps to bowl the Thunder for a meager 135. .
The Hurricanes survived some nervous times in the hunt, and David finished the contest with his 6 balls in his 17 overs, smashing 76 of 41 balls.
The result pushed the Hurricanes to his fifth-place finish, losing three in a row. Excited Ellis and Meredith run through Thunder
Of course, there was a lot of excitement about Warner’s return to his BBL after an eight-year hiatus. He returned to action against the Perth Scorchers on Friday and gave us a glimpse of his martial arts at his best before returning on June 19.
On what appeared to be a suitable surface for batting, Warner was bowled clean by Yorker jewel Meredith, when he fell for the second ball Duck. Warner was utterly beaten by Pace, arguably his one of the best deliveries of this BBL season. Australia’s fastest competitor to Lance Morris, Meredith reached speeds of around 150km/h in lightning-fast bursts. He wasn’t off on the pace to give Sam Whiteman an advantage, and the Thunder quickly fell to 4-24.
Ellis came back in the 15th and immediately ended the rally innings off Ollie Davis. On his next delivery, he bowled Nathan McAndrew for a hat-trick and previously dismissed Matthew Gilks to end four overs.
Ellis celebrated modestly, apparently unaware that he was the only other Hurricanes player to score a hat-trick alongside Xavier Dougherty.
Ellis and Meredith, who had experience playing cricket in international limited his overs, recalled their talents and added Australia’s awkwardness to Pace his options. On-form Davis plays alone
Thunder has been hot and cold this season. They suffered the humiliation of losing Adelaide by 15 points against the Strikers, but also had some great wins, including against the Scorchers in Perth.
On Sunday, the Thunder were unable to face the Hurricane’s disciplined attack, only to temporarily save the Thunder as his 22-year-old Davis shot his 45 off his 38 on the rise. . He was wise to start by slapping the ball before showing class with an extra cover for his six overs from left-arm spinner Tom Andrews. But when the Thunder collapsed again, Davis narrowly missed what was supposed to be his fourth half-century in five innings. Handy cameos from Ben Cutting and captain Chris Green ensured the Thunder put up some pretty competitive totals.
David saves the Hurricane from early trouble
The Hurricanes chase got off to a nervous start and in three overs he broke to 3 for 20. It could have been worse as Wade was allowed to three when Davis lost an easy chance on a point ahead of McAndrew.
Returning after missing a game on vacation, Wade exploded the line on the next delivery, linking with David in a 79-run partnership betraying the Hurricanes’ difficult position.
After a slow start, David landed on the cutting leg side with a 6 in the 7th over. In terms of delivery, including a back-to-back 6 from spinner Uthman Qadir, David kept the Hurricane chase on track. He reached his BBL of his two-and-a-half century and kept his nerves in the wobble of the second half as the Hurricanes held onto an undefeated home record.
A verbal battle breaks out between the teams
An argument erupted between skippers Wade and Green during a drink break with David in the middle of the Purple Patch. It was unclear what the fuss was about, but there was a conflict between Wade and Warner.
Warner pushed Wade, but that may have been a joke between the two longtime teammates in Australia.
After the match, Wade and Green had a brief chat cheerfully, shook hands and left, with Wade also seen happily chatting with Warner.
All-rounder Daniel Sams did his best to keep the Thunder in deft versatility and take his four wickets, including Wade and Asif Ali on the back end, but it wasn’t enough.