The 31st Match of the ongoing Australia T20 League will see Sydney Thunder locking horns with Hobart Hurricanes at the Sydney Showground Stadium on Saturday (January 11). The match will kick start one hour earlier than the usual start, at 12:40 PM IST. Sydney Thunder are coming into this match with three consecutive defeats. They are currently standing at the fifth spot with seven points. Hobart Hurricanes, on the other hand, are too coming on the back of a loss against Brisbane Heat. The Callum Ferguson-led side are now languishing at the seventh spot.
Sydney Thunder, after starting impressively this season, has now lost three matches in a row. In their previous encounter, Thunder suffered a humiliating defeat against Melbourne Stars. Batting first, the Thunders were never able to build enough momentum for a big total despite keeping wickets in hand. Their last over plans were overturned by Haris' brilliant hattrick. The Thunder managed to post a modest total of 145 but it proved to be not enough. In-form all-rounder Marcus Stoinis gave Stars’ a good start before Maxwell (59) provided the final flourish to seal the victory.
Thunders are now desperate for a win and playing at their home ground could give them some advantage.
Hobart Hurricanes campaign, on the other hand, have also failed to take off smoothly. Despite being equipped with a formidable squad, Hurricanes have won only three out of their seven games this season. In their last match, Hurricanes got eked out by Brisbane Heat in a low-scoring contest at the Gabba.
Batting first, Hurricanes top-order crumbled in the absence of D’Arcy Short. Matthew Wade, who returned from Test duty, played a lone hand 61. Hurricanes bowlers, however, kept them in the hunt by triggering a batting collapse, but Heat’s Ben Cutting calmly steered them home.
This was Hurricane’s fourth defeat this season and the team surely wouldn’t want to slip further.
Head to Head
|
Matches Played |
Sydney Thunder |
Hobart Hurricanes |
No Result |
|
10 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
Pitch Report
Sydney Showground Stadium so far has produced a competitive pitch. The pitch gets a little slow in the second half and both teams will prefer to bat on this track in order to post a competitive total on the scoreboard.
Weather Conditions
The clouds will hover around throughout the day but no rain is predicted during the game. The temperature is expected to be around 18-21 degree Celsius.
Probable Playing XI
Sydney Thunder
Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Matthew Gilkes, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Chris Morris, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Chris Tremain, Jonathan Cook.
Hobart Hurricanes
Matthew Wade, Caleb Jewel, Ben McDermott (C & WK), David Miller, George Bailey, Simon Milenko, Nathan Ellis, Clive Rose, Qais Ahmad, David Moody, Tom Rogers.
Key Players
Sydney Thunder
Chris Morris
Alex Hales
Hobart Hurricanes
Qais Ahmad
Ben McDermott
