Week 2 My Review (KFC BBL 2018/19)
Week 2 was a fascinating and entertaining week of cricket in the Big Bash; it shows why the shoretest form of cricket is so popular and played throughout the world. It was a good week for wicket keeper batsmen with the likes of Matthew Wade and Jos Butler impressive with the bat, while D’Arcy Short substantiated why he is possibly a solution to Australia becoming a more formidable test line up according to former legendary leg spinner in Shane Warne. There were games in week 2 of the Big Bash that were low scoring and others that were high scoring, which meant the games that were played were anything but monotonous or predictable.
Monday December 24th
Hurricanes v Stars
The Stars were the team that batted first and managed to make a competitive score with all 5 batsmen dismissed making double figures, which indicates that it was a team effort from a batting perspective for the Stars. The standout was the captain of the Stars who scored 47 runs off 31 bowls, leading from the front. It was unfortunate for the Stars that their batting effort that they put in was to no avail as the Hurricanes chased down the runs required with 6 wickets in hand, mainly thanks to an opening stand of 55 runs between Hurricanes captain, Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short who completed a superb al round performance; following up the 2 wickets he took with the bowl with a quick fire 34 runs with the bat.
Thunder v Sixers
The Thunder can thank Jos Butler for making an impressive 169 runs for the loss of 9 wickets; Butler managed to accumulate 63 runs. For the Sixers, Tom Curran took 3 wickets to prevent the Thunder from setting an insurmountable target for the Sixers to chase. Even though the total set for the Sixers to chase was a gettable 8.5 runs an over, the Sixers failed to reach the target with Daniel Sams and Fawad Ahmed taking 3 wickets each for the Thunder. Tom Curran and Sean Abbott brought some respectability to the scoreboard for the Sixers adding 88 runs for the 7th wicket.
Wednesday December 26th
Scorchers v Strikers
After adding 25 runs for the 1st wicket the Strikers capitulated and were obliterated by the Scorchers; The Strikers accumulated a poultry 88 runs losing all of their wickets, thanks to Jhye Richardson taking 3 wickets and Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye claiming 2 wickets each. The Scorchers chased down the runs required easily; only losing the 3 wickets.
Thursday December 27th
Sixers v Stars
Jordan Silk was the stand out with the bat for the Sixers with 41 not out, while Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott made some handy contributions with 20 and 22 runs respectively to help the Sixers make 9 for 130. Jackson Coleman took 3 wickets for the Stars; he was the pick of the bowlers from a wicket taking perspective. Peter Handscomb was outstanding with the bat for the Stars; sending a message to Australian selectors, scoring an impressive 70 runs. The Sixers were competitive taking 5 wickets, but they would still be disappointed with aspects of their game.
Friday December 28th
Hurricanes v Thunder
The Thunder were outstanding with the bat as they managed to score an impressive 193 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Jos Butler continued his impressive form with the bat with 89 runs, while James Faulkner was impactful as usual with the bowl claiming 2 wickets and spinner Clive Rose also took 2 wickets. Somehow the batting effort from the Thunder wasn’t enough! Hurricanes captain, Matthew Wade shared in 120 run opening partnership with the impressive D’Arcy Short.
Saturday December 29th
Renegades v Sixers
The Sixers would fairly disappointed with their batting effort as they only managed 132 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. They would be upset that 4 batsmen made 20 runs or more, but not one of them made 50 runs or more! It appeared that the Renegades would make the total set by the Sixers fairly comfortably, but they failed to chase down the runs needed to claim victory! Tom Curran led from the front from the Sixers with 3 wickets, which helped the Sixers to an unlikely win with the Renegades accumulating a poultry 99 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.
Sunday December 30th
Hurricanes v Scorchers
The Hurricanes continued their good form as they managed to restrict the Scorchers to a fairly mediocre score of 107 for the loss of 8 wickets. The Hurricanes had three multiple wicket takers in James Faulkner, D’Arcy Short and Riley Meredith performing admirably. Short and Matthew Wade gave the Hurricanes a good start with the bat with a 50 run opening partnership; at that point in time the game was all but over. The Scorchers fought hard, but the Hurricanes didn’t look like losing from start to finish with James Faulkner taking a wicket with the first bowl of the game.