Late collapse hands Hurricanes victory

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The match in a tweet: Thunder crash as the Cane Train rolls on! Late collapse hands Hobart the victory despite Mr Cricket's masterclass #BBL05

The hero: It's been almost five years since Shaun Tait last played for Australia and while he may not be the bowler he once was, he's still a man to be feared. Defending a target of 164, Tait produced a brilliant opening over that featured two wickets and pushed the speed gun to the 150km/h mark. He then returned late on to complete the job and finish with 3-16 from four overs, but it was that fearsome opening over - you can watch it in full below - that brought back memories of The Wild Thing's glory days and was enough for Shane Warne to float the prospect of a national recall.

WATCH: Tait turns back the clock with vintage over

The turning point: Just like on New Year's Eve, the 18th over of the innings completely changed the course of the match. Speedster Jake Reed had taken some punishment in his opening three overs, but he responded with the crucial wicket of Mike Hussey before a direct hit from Dan Christian and a brilliant catch from Tim Paine secured a team hat-trick and handed the home side the edge.

WATCH: Hurricanes take team hat-trick to turn the match their way

The catch I: As spectacular as Andre Russell's (see below) and a hell of a lot more important, this one-handed classic from Tim Paine to complete the team hat-trick (in the video above) was simply stunning. 

The catch II: If he's not hitting sixes onto the roof or into the top tier, he's taking brilliant diving catches. Andre Russell is the definition of a human highlights reel.

WATCH: 'I don't know how he did that'

The veteran I: There's not much more you can say about Mike Hussey, who - it's worth remembering - made his state cricket debut more than two decades ago. Having opened the tournament with an unbeaten 80 against the Sixers, Mr Cricket again anchored his side in what was ultimately a losing cause. World T20, anyone?

WATCH: Highlights of Hussey's lone hand

The veteran II: Clint McKay has built a pretty impressive resume over the years and the 32-year-old is still a bowler to be reckoned with, especially in limited overs cricket. The former Test quick, once ranked Australia's best ODI bowler, McKay picked up three big wickets inside his first two overs on Friday night and finished with 4-28 from three overs.

WATCH: McKay leads the way with four wickets

The audition: The list of candidates for a place in Australia's squad for the World T20 continues to grow and close to the top of that list is former skipper George Bailey. The Tasmanian relinquished the captaincy in 2014 to focus on first-class cricket, but he remains available to play as a batsman and is one of the form batsmen in BBL|05. With scores of 62 not out, 40, 27 and 56 not out so far, Bailey's form and experience means he'll at least be considered by national selectors for the tournament in India in March and April.

WATCH: Bailey continues red-hot form

The crowd: Blundstone Arena officials were hoping for a record-breaking crowd of 15,000 tonight, so the final figure of 17,151 would have thrilled those in the Apple Isle. The figure is reportedly the biggest for any cricket match ever in Tasmania, underlining the ever-increasing popularity of the Big Bash League.

The six: George Bailey produced a pretty good effort in the first innings of the match, but Andre Russell pulled off the biggest maximum of the night with this into the top of the Ricky Ponting Stand.

WATCH: Russell launches biggest six of the night

The wash-up: The Thunder's first loss of the tournament won't hurt their finals aspirations too much, but this win was vital for the Hurricanes in their push for a top four finish. Their Net Run Rate is still one of the worst in the competition following their record-breaking loss to the Sixers on the opening weekend, but three straight wins since then has them in a good position ahead of their match against the Renegades on Monday. The Thunder now head to Brisbane to take on the winless Heat, with their ego bruised but still top of the ladder.

Teams

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