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Sixers vs Thunder: Full Match Highlights | 14:43
The Hobart Hurricanes’ season couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.
Facing the Melbourne Renegades in Geelong last month, the Hurricanes were rolled for 74 in 12.4 overs, the club’s lowest score in Big Bash League history, with the hosts chasing the measly target in just 54 deliveries.
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It was a demoralising defeat for the competition’s perennial underachievers, who had failed to qualify for finals the previous two seasons by finishing sixth in 2024 and fifth in 2023.
However, since their season-opening disaster, the Hurricanes have been the competition’s most dominant club with eight wins from their following nine matches, topping the ladder in the group stage.
On Monday evening, the Hobart-based franchise will host a BBL decider for the first time, facing the Sydney Thunder at Bellerive Oval for the chance to win their maiden title.
The Hurricanes are one of two clubs — alongside the Melbourne Stars — that have never lifted the coveted trophy, losing both of their previous grand final appearances in 2014 and 2018.
The men in purple will be hoping it’s third time’s the charm.
“After that first game, it would have been easy to panic and think the worst, but credit to the management, we left that performance in Geelong and just went on a run from there,” Hurricanes all-rounder Chris Jordan said after Monday’s triumphant Qualifier against the Sixers.
“We’ve got momentum, and everyone is understanding their roles.
“We’ll enjoy tonight because it’s special for the fans, the organisation and the entire city … but tonight will mean nothing if we can’t quite lift the trophy on Monday.”
The Hurricanes are undefeated at Bellerive Oval this season with six straight wins, including a six-wicket victory over the Thunder earlier this month. The Sydney-based club has not won a BBL match in Hobart since January 2020, losing nine of their previous 11 appearances in the Tasmanian capital.
“This year we’ve prided ourselves on playing at home and making this a bit of a fortress,” Hurricanes captain Nathan Ellis said.
“If you look at the record, we’ve done that.”
Meanwhile, the BBL decider is officially a sellout, with fans queuing outside Bellerive Oval on Saturday morning to secure their tickets.
“We’re getting bigger turnouts each game, so that’s been awesome to be part of,” Hurricanes pinch-hitter Tim David said.
“We’re good in our home ground; that home-ground advantage is a big thing, particularly for us at the Hurricanes.
“We know how to play here and obviously then less travel, so it’s a big advantage to have home finals and that’s something we’re certainly aware of.”
Hurricanes’ most recent results in Hobart
12-run win vs Sixers — January 21st
4-wicket win vs Renegades — January 14th
6-wicket win vs Thunder — January 10th
5-wicket win vs Strikers — January 5th
50-run win vs Sixers — January 1st
8-wicket vs Scorchers — December 21st
David has been one of the competition’s most destructive batters with 254 runs at 42.33 and a strike rate of 177.62. Only two players have ever bettered those numbers during a BBL season — Glenn Maxwell and Laurie Evans.
Nobody has scored more runs in the Power Surge than David this summer, with his strike rate of 188.95 during fielding restriction overs the highest in the competition.
Elsewhere, opener Mitchell Owen has been a revelation at the top of the order for the Hurricanes, clobbering 344 runs at 38.22 with a mind-boggling strike rate of 191.11.
Since last month’s breakout century against the Perth Scorchers, the 23-year-old has struck more boundaries than any other player in the competition with 25 sixes and 29 fours. Owen, who had never opened the batting in Big Bash cricket before this summer, was named in the team of the tournament alongside teammate David.
“We’ve had lots of contributors,” Hurricanes coach Jeff Vaughan said.
“Whilst we’ve had some incredibly impressive individual performances, we haven’t been solely reliant on one player in matches.”
Highest strike rate in BBL|14
191.11 – Mitchell Own (Hurricanes)
186.78 – Glenn Maxwell (Stars)
184.69 – Finn Allen (Scorchers)
182.10 – Steve Smith (Scorchers)
177.62 – Tim David (Hurricanes)
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Riley Meredith after the speedster clocked 152.1km/h while wreaking havoc with the new ball during Monday’s Qualifier against the Sixers, including two wickets in the Powerplay.
“It’s the most professional finished product of Riley Meredith I’ve seen in a long time,” Ellis said.
“He’s gone to another level this year.”
Owen, Meredith and Ellis have signed through to the end of the 2027/28 season, along with batter Ben McDermott and all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary. Having secured a core group of players for the next three summers, the Hurricanes hope to remain title contenders for the foreseeable future.
“The goal was to bring a core group together, keep bringing on domestic players and growing Tasmanian talent,” Hurricanes head of strategy Ricky Ponting told News Corp.
“Hopefully this isn’t a flash in the pan season for the Hurricanes, we have to make sure we sustain excellence across the next ten years ideally.
“If everything goes to plan on Monday, that can only be a great thing for Tasmanian cricket.”
The BBL final between the Hurricanes and Thunder gets underway on Monday at 7.15pm AEDT.
