Your ultimate guide for the reigning champions first home game of KFC BBL|13 as they host the Hurricanes at Optus Stadium
All you need to know: Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes
Match facts
Who: Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes
What: Match 9, BBL|13
Where: Optus Stadium, Perth
When: Wednesday, December 20. Bat flip at 3.30pm local (6.30pm AEDT), first ball at 4.15pm local (7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Paul Wilson (field) Mike Graham-Smith (field), Donovan Koch (third), Ashlee Gibbons (fourth), Simon Fry (match referee)
Match squads
Scorchers: Ashton Turner (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Zak Crawley (England), Cooper Connolly, Stephen Eskinazi (England), Laurie Evans (England), Cameron Gannon, Aaron Hardie, Liam Haskett, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis (vc), Hamish McKenzie, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman
Hurricanes: Nathan Ellis (c), Corey Anderson (USA), Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Sam Hain (England), Peter Hatzoglou, Caleb Jewell, Chris Jordan (England), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade
Form guide
Scorchers: WDWWW (most recent first)
Flexed their muscles against the struggling Stars to get their title defence off to the perfect start after a false start in Geelong due to a dangerous pitch. All six bowlers registered a wicket in a superb team effort to roll the Stars for 101 before their batters got the job done inside 14 overs. Expect another strong showing in their first match at Optus Stadium since a full house of 53,886 watched them claim the BBL|12 crown last February.
Hurricanes: LWLLL
The Hurricanes raced out of the blocks in their season opener against the Sixers as they piled on 45 runs in the four-over Powerplay. But their innings stalled after the wicket of Caleb Jewell in the sixth over, only managing 8-135 from their 20 overs as the Sixers reached the total for the loss of four wickets. It doesn't get any easier for Nathan Ellis' team as they embark on the toughest road trip in the Big Bash to face the Scorchers at the Furnace where they are the only away team with a winning record at Optus Stadium.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
Jason Behrendorff exceptional form since returning to Australia's T20 side in September continued into this year's Big Bash with 3-28 against the Stars last week. Since the second T20 against South Africa, Behrendorff has taken 11 wickets in six games for Australia and the Scorchers, striking on average every 13.1 deliveries with an economy rate of 6.67.
Cricket Australia contracted spinner Ashton Agar has been named in the Scorchers squad and could play his first match since being ruled out of the ODI World Cup with a calf injury, with Lance Morris also included after being released from the Test squad. Top draft pick Zak Crawley is the other big inclusion for the Scorchers, while Cameron Gannon joins as a local replacement player for Mitch Marsh. Matt Kelly has also been ruled out with a recent calf strain.
While traditionally a pace friendly surface, left-arm finger spinner Paddy Dooley was the Hurricanes best performed bowler in their most recent trip to Perth last January, conceding just five runs per over for a return of 1-20. Dooley was again tidy in the Hurricanes opening match of BBL|13 where he was only hit for one boundary and conceded 22 runs from his three overs. And there's good news for Hobart fans with express quick Riley Meredith named for the trip west after overcoming a minor side injury suffered in their loss to the Sixers to get through a Cricket Tasmania Premier League match over the weekend.
Head-to-head
Overall: Scorchers (12 wins), Hurricanes (7 wins)
At Optus Stadium: Scorchers (2 wins), Hurricanes (3 wins)
Most runs: D'Arcy Short (391), Mitchell Marsh (324), Josh Inglis (258), George Bailey (253), Matthew Wade (211)
Most wickets: Andrew Tye (14), Jhye Richardson (13), Ashton Agar (13), Riley Meredith (12), Nathan Ellis (10)
The venue
Rapid stats
- Perth Scorchers have won six of their last seven BBL matches against the Hobart Hurricanes. Their only defeat in that span was an eight-run loss in December 2022.
- Hobart Hurricanes have lost their last nine BBL matches outside Tasmania, their longest losing run outside their home state in the history of the competition. Their last victory in such fixtures was a
- six-run win against the Melbourne Renegades at Marvel Stadium (January 18, 2022).
- Perth Scorchers have dropped 10 catch attempts across their last five BBL innings when fielding; the Scorchers had logged a 100 per cent catch success rate (25 of 25) across their four innings in the competition prior to that span.
- Matthew Wade (1942) is 58 away from becoming the third player to score 2000 runs for the Hobart Hurricanes in BBL history after D'Arcy Short and Ben McDermott. He was dismissed for a duck in his most recent innings against the Perth Scorchers (January 18, 2023) after scoring 51 off 29 balls in his previous innings against the Scorchers (December 19, 2022).
- Josh Inglis (Perth Scorchers) has scored 50-plus runs in four of his last seven BBL innings against the Hobart Hurricanes (73, 7no, 58, 2, 0, 62, 53) including each of his last two; his 258 career runs against the Hurricanes is his joint-most against any team in the competition (also 258 runs v Sydney Sixers).
What's on the line?
A second consecutive win for the Perth Scorchers would see them keep pace with Brisbane Heat at the top of the BBL|13 standings while the Hurricanes would open their account after their first up loss to the Sixers and ensure they don't fall behind the top four early in the season.
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