Adelaide return holds no fears for flying Canes

A week ago, on the back of a five-game winless trot that left them languishing second to bottom, Hobart Hurricanes were rated a less-than seven per cent chance of reaching the finals of BBL|09.

Seven days later, the buoyant Hurricanes – boosted by the return of key players from injury and national representation – have qualified for the major round, might host a home final to kickstart their finals campaign and genuinely believe they can keep winning their way to a maiden KFC BBL title.

The turnaround that started with skipper Matthew Wade's blistering form at the top of the batting order in his most recent outings has been enhanced by the return of his equally damaging opening partner D'Arcy Short from the men's ODI team after the brief tour of India.

The pair blasted a first-wicket stand of 203 against in-form Adelaide Strikers at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, with Wade finishing unbeaten on 130 – the second-highest individual total in BBL history – and Short the only Hurricanes wicket to fall in that dominant performance, when he holed out for 72.

If results fall the way of last year's competition pacesetters, who crashed out of BBL|08 in a home semi-final loss to Melbourne Stars, they will host the inaugural Eliminator Final at Blundstone Arena on Thursday.

And if they triumph there, or wherever the fourth v fifth final is fixtured, they will find themselves back at Adelaide Oval to tackle the third-placed Strikers, a mission that Short and his teammates would clearly relish after their recent form at the ground.

Last year, he and Wade put together an unbroken opening partnership of 158 as they chased down the Strikers’ target with more than three overs to spare.

From three games opening against the Strikers, the left-handed duo has amassed a total of 420 runs at a rate of more than 10 an over.

Now, having posted the second-highest first-wicket stand the BBL has seen, Short believes the revitalised Hurricanes – who have also regained veteran allrounder James Faulkner from injury – can take on all comers to claim the crown that has so-far eluded them.

"Wherever we play that (Eliminator) game on Thursday, we'll be ready for it and be on a high, I reckon," Short said in the wake of his team's 10-run victory that assured them a finals berth.

"We've won the last three now and the team's back to being a pretty strong side.

"We're obviously missing Rizza (injured quick Riley Meredith) but having Jimmy (Faulkner) back in the bowling line-up definitely helps.

"Hopefully we can carry that momentum through, and I guess we've got nothing to lose now.

"We just scraped in (to the final five), so we can play with freedom and try and get to the final."

While not casting his gaze beyond the first game of the new-look BBL finals series – which will see the Hurricanes play Brisbane Heat at the Gabba if the Heat defeat Melbourne Renegades tonight, or Sydney Thunder in Hobart if the Renegades win – Short would be delighted by a return visit to Adelaide.

It's a venue that had harboured bad memories for the Hurricanes, who were pummelled in the grand final of BBL|07 when Adelaide piled on 2-202 and kept their rivals to 5-177 to secure their first title.

Short top-scored in that failed run chase, in which Wade was run out without facing a ball, but the Hurricanes claimed to have learned valuable lessons from that defeat and formulated a better game plan for Adelaide Oval, where they have not been beaten since.

Wade claimed the similarities between Adelaide's shorter square boundaries and those at Blundstone Arena help the Hobart players feel at home and, with the prospect of a return to the venue on Saturday should the Hurricanes win their first final, Short struggled to conceal his sense of anticipation.

"It's a great place to play cricket, especially with the crowd you get here and obviously the wickets you get are always batter friendly," Short said of the ground where he averages 61.25 in BBL matches at a strike rate of more than 136 runs per 100 balls faced.

"I just love playing cricket at Adelaide Oval.

"If we come back here, we definitely won't be upset about it, that's for sure."

But nor will the Strikers, who squandered the opportunity to finish second and take a double-chance into their finals campaign, be fearful of a return bout against a team that's had their measure at home for the past two meetings.

Opener Phil Salt, who top-scored with 66 from 33 balls in his team's brave but ultimately unsuccessful chase that also represented their highest BBL score at Adelaide Oval, doesn't read too much into Sunday night's result.

After a gruelling recent travel schedule, in which the Strikers played three matches in five days including a return trip to Perth, Salt claims a six-day break to prepare for the Knockout Final at home next Saturday offers a timely opportunity to regroup.

"Going over to Perth was like going to a different country," the England import said after Sunday night's loss.

"Got off the plane, and felt like you were in Dubai.

"I think they (Hobart) had a pretty outstanding night, to come to our place and beat us.

"But I'd back us, as a side, over anyone right now.

"So I'll be watching whoever's going to come our way Saturday night in the play-off.

"There's no panic, we're playing good cricket and we're going to keep doing the same things.

"We'll go into our various meetings (this week) and we'll talk about what we can do better with the bat, what we could have done better at the top, in the middle and at the end (of the batting innings) and we'll do the exact same with the ball.

"There's no such thing as the perfect game, you can always get better.

"So we'll be having those chats, and getting ready."

Matthew Wade & D’Arcy Short opening partnerships v Strikers

158 runs from 16.5 overs in Adelaide, 2019

59 runs from 6.4 overs in Launceston, 2019

203 runs from 18.2 overs in Adelaide, 2020

Total: 420 runs at run rate of 10.04

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