Last-placed Thunder desperately need a win to reignite their BBL|15 campaign as they host the reigning champions in Sydney
Sydney Thunder v Hobart Hurricanes: match preview
Match facts
Who: Sydney Thunder v Hobart Hurricanes
What: Match 21, KFC BBL|15
Where: Engie Stadium, Sydney
When: Saturday, January 3. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Listen: ABC, SEN Radio. Listen in standard and real-time with no delay to live play via Cricket Radio on the CA Live app. Find out more here
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: Mitch Claydon and Mike Graham-Smith (field), Sharad Patel (third), Patrick Jackson (fourth), Janine Stainer (match referee)
Match squads
Sydney Thunder: Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings, Chris Green, Matthew Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan, Sam Konstas, Nic Maddinson, Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner (c)
Ins: Wes Agar, Nic Maddinson. Outs: Blake Nikitaras (selection), Reece Topley (SA20 commitments).
Nic Maddinson is in the frame to feature in his first Big Bash match since BBL|15 after missing the entirety with a broken thumb, before undergoing chemotherarpy for testicular cancer some months later. Should he be selected, it will be Maddinson's first match for the Thunder after representing the Sixers, Stars and Renegades in previous seasons. Wes Agar has been named in the squad for his first potential appearance of BBL|15, while Blake Nikitaras and Reece Topley come out of the line-up; the latter to compete in the SA20 in a previously arranged agreement with the Thunder.
Hobart Hurricanes: Rehan Ahmed, Nikhil Chaudhary, Nathan Ellis (c), Rishad Hossain, Chris Jordan, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Will Prestwidge, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Mac Wright
Ins: Will Prestwidge. Outs: Hugo Burdon (omitted).
The Hurricanes have made one change following their recent loss to the Scorchers at home, with Will Prestwidge back in the squad in place of Hugo Burdon.
Club news
Sydney Thunder
Hobart Hurricanes
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Players to watch
Shadab Khan (Pakistan): The Pakistan leg-spinning allrounder has made an immediate impact with both bat and ball in BBL|15, contributing crucial wickets and handy lower-order runs. Took two wickets and crashed 34 runs in the Thunder's away clash with the Hurricanes earlier this season and his leg-spin will again be vital in the middle-overs to restrict the Hurricanes' aggressive batting line up.
Nikhil Chaudhary (Hurricanes): In just his second season in the Big Bash, Chaudhary has risen to the extra responsibility this season, sliding up and down the order as his side's impact batter. He's currently the Hurricanes' leading scorer in BBL|15 with 211 runs at 35, with an impressive strike rate of 155. He top scored for his side with 31 off 15 balls in their loss to the Scorchers on Thursday, as he did earlier in the season against the Renegades (79) and Thunder (41).
Top performers
Most Runs
BBL|15 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
466 |
|
2
David Warner
D Warner
|
433 |
|
3
Sam Harper
S Harper
|
381 |
|
4
Mitch Marsh
M Marsh
|
360 |
|
5
Aaron Hardie
A Hardie
|
339 |
|
6
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
324 |
|
7
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
322 |
|
8
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
311 |
Most Wickets
BBL|15 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Haris Rauf
H Rauf
|
20 |
|
2
Jack Edwards
J Edwards
|
19 |
|
3
Gurinder Sandhu
G Sandhu
|
18 |
|
4
Tom Curran
T Curran
|
16 |
|
5
Peter Siddle
P Siddle
|
16 |
|
6
Ben Dwarshuis
B Dwarshuis
|
16 |
|
7
Xavier Bartlett
X Bartlett
|
15 |
|
8
Lloyd Pope
L Pope
|
15 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|15
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Finn Allen
F Allen
|
38 |
|
2
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
20 |
|
3
Mitch Marsh
M Marsh
|
20 |
|
4
David Warner
D Warner
|
20 |
|
5
Nikhil Chaudhary
N Chaudhary
|
17 |
|
6
Matthew Renshaw
M Renshaw
|
17 |
|
7
Ashton Turner
A Turner
|
16 |
|
8
Sam Harper
S Harper
|
15 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Hobart Hurricanes have won their past five BBL matches against the Sydney Thunder, bowling first on the day in each of those five games; a sixth consecutive win in this match would be the Hurricanes' outright longest winning run against the Thunder in the history of the competition (also won five from January 2012 to January 2016).
- Sydney Thunder have lost each of their two matches at Engie Stadium in BBL|15; they haven't started a campaign with more than two consecutive defeats at the venue in the history of the competition.
- Hobart Hurricanes have conceded 45-plus runs during the Powerplay in each of their past two bowling innings in the BBL; the last time they did so in more consecutive innings during this period was a four-match span in January 2020 which included two games against Sydney Thunder (53 on two occasions in January 2020).
- Daniel Sams (Sydney Thunder) has taken seven wickets at a strike rate of 15.3 across his past five BBL innings, including figures of 4-51 against the Perth Scorchers last time out; he's taken six wickets at a strike rate of 11.8 across his past three innings against Hobart Hurricanes.
- Nathan Ellis (Hobart Hurricanes) has taken 18 wickets at a strike rate of 13.3 across his past 11 BBL innings, including two-plus wickets in each of his past two innings in that span; he hasn't taken multiple wickets in more than two consecutive innings in his career in the competition.
- Hobart Hurricanes are on a five-game winning streak over Sydney Thunder dating back to January 2023. All those victories have come at home in Hobart, with the Thunder winning the last match between the two sides at Engie Stadium back in January 2020.
- Hobart Hurricanes' batter Ben McDermott (2965) is 35 away from notching 3000 runs in the Big Bash. He would be the seventh men's batter to reach the milestone in the competition.
- Sydney Thunder allrounder Daniel Sams (936) is 64 away from reaching 1000 BBL runs.
- Hobart Hurricanes captain Nathan Ellis (95) is five away from bringing up 100 wickets in the BBL. He would be the second men's bowler to reach the milestone for the Hurricanes after Riley Meredith (107 wickets).
What's on the line?
It's getting desperate for the Thunder who start to enter season-over territory if they don't string some wins together soon. They're currently 1-4 and languishing at the bottom of the standings. Despite their loss to the Scorchers in their last start, the Hurricanes are sitting comfortably inside the top four as they seek their fifth win of the season.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
SCO
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.363 | 0 | 14 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.605 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
HUR
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.759 | 0 | 12 |
|
5
HEA
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.431 | 0 | 10 |
|
6
STR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.231 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.202 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | -1.212 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points