Canes hope to sign Ahmad and the rest

THE signature of teen Afghan wizard Qais Ahmad looms as priority No.1 for the Hobart Hurricanes — but there is no need for a major list overhaul for next year’s Big Bash.

This year’s minor premiers fell short of the final after losing to the Melbourne Stars on Thursday night at Blundstone Arena, ending a tournament which for so long carried so much hope.

Despite losing Tymal Mills two days before the opening game, Hobart held off signing a replacement until a week before the finals, bringing in Ahmad to fill a hole left by the shock retirement of Johan Botha.

The 18-year-old had an immediate impact, snaring seven wickets in his three matches and single-handedly keeping the hosts in the semi-final against the Stars with 3-33. While he is yet to sit down and comb completely through his list, coach Adam Griffith doesn’t forecast too many changes when planning for next year’s BBL begins. “You have to be happy with what he did coming in, he is young and energetic and loves the game and is a really lovely young man who really appreciated his time here,” Griffith said of Ahmad. “He almost changed the game in our favour, it is pretty hard to find those sorts of people so we will be investigating that pretty heavily. “We still feel we have the group to win the tournament, if we get another 20 runs last night we are probably having a different conversation today. “Our batting has been super strong all tournament. We will obviously make a few tweaks on the edges, as every club does, but the core group we will definitely look to get back next year.” Griffith also said he had no regrets about leaving Tim Paine on the sidelines, despite the Test skipper making himself available. While the Sydney Thunder had no hesitation rushing back Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins for their final match, the Hurricanes opted to stick with the same batting group it used in the second half of the tournament. “A hundred times out of 100 [they would pick Caleb Jewell over Paine for the semi], we are big on continuity of team and they are the group of players that got us there,” Griffith said. “We have to back that in and the opportunity for those guys to play in a final is a great learning experience for them.”