BBL 2016/17, Match 6 Review: Quinney, Maxwell bash Hobart Hurricanes

Solid performances from the top three batsmen enabled Melbourne Stars overwhelm Hobart Hurricanes by 8 wickets in the 6th match of the Big Bash League 2016/17 at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart. The home team, after electing to bat first hammered 188/4 in 20 overs to set a competitive target for the Stars.

The Stars didn’t feel any pressure as their top order featuring – Rob Quiney, Luke Wright and Glenn Maxwell – made a short work of the chase and overhauled the target without breaking much sweat with 14 balls to spare.

The chase was a smooth one.  Rob Quiney and Luke Wright opened the innings and took up the responsibility of creating a platform to complete the task. The duo was the zone today and went hammer and tongs putting up 88 runs in just 8.3 overs for the first wicket.

Wright, batting on 48, was the first to go after he missed a full heave off Cameron Boyce’s bowling. The dent wasn’t huge though as Glenn Maxwell walked in made some noise with his bat. The pair came together and virtually finished the match with 73 runs for the second wicket. the effect of the duo’s no-calm batting approach meant that the match was virtually over by the 15th over.

Quinney committed a mistake in the 16th over which saw his 75 runs knock come to an end but Maxwell continued to have a blast and end the match in just 17.4 overs and carrying his bat with 58 runs against his name.

In the first innings, the home side survived early jitters to eventually post a good total. Hurricanes basically relied on two of their batsmen – Tim Paine and Kumar Sangakkara after right arm fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus left the batting side reeling at 6 for 2 with his twin strike before missing out on his hat-trick.  After a decent start in the opening over, Ben snapped wickets off the opening two deliveries of the 2nd over, sending back D’Arcy short and Dom Michael one after another.

D’Arcy, who blew away Sydney Sixers in their first game, courtesy a 29-ball 61 on his T20 debut, couldn’t produce another big show and lost his stump in the second over of the match as he failed to cope with a full straight delivery on the stumps. Michael, the right-handed all-rounder, was welcomed with a similar delivery which yielded a similar result as the batsman also lost his stumps to put Ben on a verge of a hat-trick.

Unfortunately, the former international fast bowler failed to make it three in three as he followed up his two wicket taking delivery with a less impressive waist-high full toss to Kumar Sangakkara who guided it through backward point for four runs.

The innings moved further but the Hurricanes received another setback as Sanga, despite getting off to an easy start, lost his wicket an over before the powerplay. The Star, it seemed were getting a good grip over the match but Hurricanes carved an escape route from the early mess as George Bailey partnered with Paine to thwart the bowling side completely. The duo batted with superb dominances and occupied the crease till the penultimate over scoring at a staggering rate of 10.11 to put up 145 runs for the 4th wicket in just 14.2 overs.

It was all storm and no calm at the time Paine and Bailey were batting. Their superior batting show made it easier for the team to reach a comfortable 188/4 at the end of 20 overs. Skipper Paine, who played a similar knock of 63 in the tournament opener against Sydney Sixers, registered another fifty before falling short of his ton by just nine runs in the 19th over, bringing an end to the stand.

Brief Scores: 

Hobart Hurricanes: 188/4 in 20 overs (Tim Paine 91; Ben Hilfenhaus 3/38)

Melbourne Stars:  191/3 in 17.4 overs (Rob Quiney 75; Start Broad 2/35)

Man of the Match: Rob Quiney