The Hobart Hurricanes have fallen just short at the SCG after a “comedy of errors” left them with too much to do late in the six-run loss to the Sydney Sixers.
Despite some thrilling late heroics from Asif Ali (41 off 14), where he could have brought the win scenario to 10 runs from four balls in the final over, the Sixers recorded their first win of this BBL campaign.
Amid Asif’s late surge with the bat, he was surprised he didn’t have an extra ball to face in the penultimate over after a full toss from Hayden Kerr — which Asif hit for six over the long-off boundary — wasn’t called a no-ball, with replays suggesting it might’ve been over waist height.
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“That no-ball would have made a difference hey?” Fox Cricket’s Adam Zampa said.
“Should we be using the technology for that (to check a no-ball height)? It takes two seconds.
“If that was hit and then given out, caught, they would have checked it so I don’t see the difference.
“I think most guys would be OK with it if it’s fast.
“Just got to get the call right.”
But it’s a case of what could have been for the Hurricanes after their fielding woes started second ball and didn’t let up.
Three dropped catches allowed the Sixers to post 5-137, before frustration boiled over with the bat as Matt Wade kicked his away in disgust when he fell for 15.
The Sixers rode their luck early with Kurtis Patterson’s leading edge falling safely between three Hobart fielders on the second ball.
Fox Cricket commentator Adam Gilchrist couldn’t believe the “communication issue” that saw Patterson survive.
“(Paddy) Dooley looked like the man running straight toward it!” he said.
“Then McDermott charged in and thought he was the one.
“That’s a major mix up! Look where it lands – it might have been tight (for Dooley).
“I can understand why McDermott called it.”
“In the end, they all just watched it land between them,” Mark Howard added.
Patterson made the most of his early chance, as he and fellow opener Josh Philippe guided the Sixers through the first powerplay to be 0-36 off three.
Then the Sixers rode more luck when Shadab Khan dropped a sitter off his own bowling, giving Philippe a life on 21.
“I can’t quite believe what I’ve seen here,” Gilchrist said.
“One of the most damaging players still there, should have been gone.”
Howard said it appeared “everything is going wrong” for the Hurricanes as Sydney raced to 0-68 inside seven overs.
It took Jimmy Neesham to get the breakthrough, as Patterson was caught behind for 38 from 25.
And from there, the Sixers fell into a hole losing 4-2 from just seven deliveries.
Philippe (43 off 21) went back to the dug out seven balls after Patterson’s fall, and Moises Henriques went for his second straight a golden duck when Khan redeemed himself with a brilliant catch off his bowling.
“He’s flying around like a purple superman!” Howard said.
“It’s the Shadab Khan we expect,” Gilchrist added.
“He’s a fine athlete. He stunned himself when he put down a sitter a few overs ago – they are up and about now.”
In game 100, Jordan Silk didn’t trouble the scorers after a Dooley beauty took the bails, before Dan Christian joined the row of ducks when he nicked through to Matt Wade.
“Dooley can do no wrong … and the Sixers have fallen in a heap!” Howard said.
Neesham added to Hobart’s fielding woes late when he put down Hayden Kerr in the outfield.
And Kerr finished on 32, getting run out on the final ball to lead Sydney to 6-137 off 14.
The Hurricanes went big early, belting Sean Abbott for 15 off his first five deliveries before D’Arcy Short chopped on for 13 as the first wicket to fall.
And then Ben McDermott went in similar fashion six balls later for 17, chopping on Stephen O’Keefe who returned to the Sixers’ line up after missing the loss to Perth.
“He knows like his bowling partner Sean Abbott how to get the job done,” Gilchrist praised.
The Hurricanes dodged a bullet when Naveen-ul-Haq’s “brilliant effort” on the boundary counted for naught as the tip of his foot touched the rope.
Naveen managed to catch Shadab on the boundary and as momentum took him over the rope, he threw the ball into the air and then caught it once again.
“That is quite spectacular,” Howard said.
“But I’ve got a feeling you’ve got to take your last step inside the play,” Gilchrist added.
But replays showed it was a six instead of a dismissal.
Abbott then took more punishment as Matt Wade put him over the boundary to reach 2-56 at the halfway point of their shortened innings.
With their only review blown early, O’Keefe’s big appeal against Wade fell on deaf ears and there was nothing the Sixers could do.
But the man dubbed the competition’s best fielder, Jordan Silk, made no mistake with the hands as he caught Wade for 15.
“Jordan Silk’s never going to miss it!” Howard said.
“The Hurricanes are starting to stumble.”
Silk proud to be ‘best fielder’ in Aus | 01:10
Wade’s frustration showed as he kicked his bat away after his dismissal. Next ball, Tim David was almost run out, leaving his bat behind as he raced back in a “comedy of errors”.
When Jimmy Neesham fell for 5 and David followed, the Sixers were all but home with less than two overs to go.
“It’s too much to do with too little time,” Gilchrist said.
Ali went big off his 14 balls, and could have put Hobart in a winning position if a controversial no ball was called with an over still to go.
Ali had already taken 23 off the Hayden Kerr over when he dispatched him over the rope for six on the final delivery – one that appeared above waist height.
But the call didn’t come and the chase wasn’t enough for Hobart as they suffered their second loss in three games.
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TEAMS
Sixers: Josh Philippe (wk), Kurtis Patterson, James Vince, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Dan Christian, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Stephen O‘Keefe, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid, Todd Murphy
Hurricanes: D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade (c) (wk), Shadab Khan, Tim David, Asif Ali, James Neesham, Joel Paris, Nathan Ellis, Paddy Dooley, Riley Meredith
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