EASY DOES IT
PERFECTING the fundamentals of Twenty20 cricket is all that stands in the way of Hobart and its second appearance in the Big Bash League finals.
The Hurricanes square off against the most successful outfit in the com- petition at the WACA tonight — knowing victory will lock away their first top-four spot since BBL|03.
And the key to bouncing back from Wednesday night’s loss to Adelaide, which snapped a five-match winning streak, is simply doing the basics better, according to assistant coach Adam Griffith. Hobart produced a sloppy fielding performance against the Strikers, which allowed openers Alex Carey and Jake Weatherald to cash in with a 171-run opening stand, the second biggest in BBL history.
Having spent six seasons with the Scorchers before returning to Tas- mania, Griffith knows more than most what makes the hosts so formidable, but it is something the Hurricanes can easily emulate.
“It is all about the basics and fundamentals, and that’s what we didn’t do well the other night,” Griffith said.
“It had nothing to do with the op- position, we just didn’t do what we normally do well.
“That’s been the basis of the Scorchers’ success for so long, they just do the fundamentals really well and do the little things really well.
“It is about winning those pressure moments and absorbing the pressure, it doesn’t matter who the opposition is.
“We can’t back away from fielding because we had a bad night, but actually attack the ball even harder and make sure we take the game on.”
Brisbane’s heavy defeat to the Sydney Sixers on Thursday night has left the Hurricanes needing to win only one of their last two contests to lock down a top-four position. It is the first time the side has had its destiny in its own hands for several seasons, but in order to secure a semi-final berth tonight the Hurricanes will need to snap a fivematch losing skid against the Scorchers.
“It is quite an interesting vibe around the group, no one is even really talking about finals,” Griffith said.
“We are not watching other games and putting equations in place ... I know it is a bit of a cliche but we don’t even have to talk to the group about it.
“That’s what has been really enjoyable about this group, they haven’t been in this position for a while, which means they are taking it as it comes.”
The Hurricanes took an unchanged squad to Perth, while the Scorchers regain Adam Voges from his one-match suspension and regain Sam Whiteman from injury, though Shaun Marsh remains sidelined.
“They have a lot of depth, any time you play the Scorchers here at the WACA it is a hard ask,” Griffith said. SQUADS — Hobart: George Bailey (c), Jofra Archer, Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Alex Doolan, Ben McDermott, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills, Nathan Reardon, Tom Rogers, Clive Rose, D’Arcy Short, Matthew Wade. Perth: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Will Bosisto, Tim Bresnan, Hilton Cartwright, Tim David, Mitchell Johnson, Matthew Kelly, Michael Klinger, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman.