Dunk trades shirts, retains friendships

Considering the player he was traded for is one of his best mates who lives just around the corner, it's not difficult to believe Adelaide Strikers recruit Ben Dunk when he insists his match-winning hand against his former side wasn't about settling personal scores.

In fact, Dunk believes the Hobart Hurricanes, who sent the 'keeper batsman to the Strikers in return for allrounder Hamish Kingston last November, did him a favour, suggesting he may well have been riding the bench had they not completed the KFC Big Bash League's third-ever trade.

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On a scorching-hot Friday night in Adelaide, the Hurricanes had no answers for their former man Dunk, who crunched 79no off 49 balls to steer the Strikers to a comfortable win with 10 balls to spare.

And although Dunk, who still represents Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield and Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, saved his best knock of BBL|06 for his former side, he said the only extra motivation he took into the game was related to keeping the Strikers' title hopes alive.

"Hamish and I are great mates," Dunk told bigbash.com.au. "He lives about 300 metres away from me in Hobart.

"We had lunch together today, there's no ill-feeling.

"At the end of the day, (the Hurricanes) have probably done a great thing by me, I probably wasn't going to play in their team.

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"They've traded me and I've gotten an opportunity to play and now I'm hitting the ball nicely and making a bit of a difference.

"There's certainly no grudges there but it is nice to get the victory. We've been struggling so far this season so I'm really happy with getting the team back on track with a win."

After Hobart did well to reach 161 considering they'd been 5-30, Dunk got the hosts' chase off to a rousing start.

The 29-year-old blasted England Test seamer Stuart Broad's fourth delivery for six over long-on before helping an overpitched away-swinger to the point boundary the following ball, with 15 runs in total coming off that first over of the innings.

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Unlike a number of his top-order counterparts, Dunk seldom appears to premeditate, relying rather on sharp footwork and power generated from his hefty frame.

A couple of slog-swept sixes into the second tier off Hobart's spinners and 11 boundaries in total from the opener got the Strikers home comfortably enough, despite a couple of late scalps for Broad (2-37 off his four overs).

"It was nice to be there at the end and make sure we won the game," said Dunk, who made 31 off 17 in the Strikers' preceding loss on Monday to the Hurricanes.

"I feel like I've been batting beautifully this tournament and probably haven't put together that match-winning performance and taken that responsibility.

"So to do that tonight and get our season back on track as well, I'm really happy with."

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Having struck 395 runs for the Hurricanes in BBL|03 to see him adjudged player of the tournament, Dunk is again firming to be in the discussion for the award this summer.

Although it will undoubtedly take something special from him, or any mere mortal, to stop Chris Lynn from claiming back-to-back Player of the Tournament titles if the Brisbane Heat slugger continues at even half the pace he's set so far.

But should Lynn's heroics propel him out of the Heat's teal for the back-end of BBL|06 and into national colours for Australia's upcoming one-day international series against Pakistan, Dunk looks to be among the other contenders for this summer's accolade.

After five innings, Dunk sits second on the run charts with 232 runs at 58 ahead of Tim Paine (third with 218 runs at 43.60) and Mitch Marsh (fourth with 210 runs at 70), who all trail the mighty Lynn (309 runs at 154.50).

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On the bowling front, Sean Abbott (12 wickets at 12.41, economy rate of 7.84) is the standout though Brad Hogg (five wickets at 15.00, econ. 6.25 from only three games) has been impressive in his three outings.

The sixth-placed Strikers travel to Melbourne to face the Stars next Tuesday, while the seventh-placed Hurricanes are back in action on Monday at home to the Sydney Thunder.