LET’S DO IT

Pain of the past fires Canes

THE Hurricanes enter the new Big Bash League season driven by finals failures past with redemption the theme for the upcoming campaign.

Hobart will start BBL09 in Alice Springs against the Sydney Sixers on Friday coming off a grand final defeat in BBL07 and a semi-final loss in BBL08 despite finishing on top of the ladder. Standin skipper Ben McDermott, filling in for captain Matthew Wade who is on Test duties, said the pain of those two finals flops are the motivation for another crack at the Hurricanes’ first title, especially the fact Hobart failed to produced its best in the biggest moments.

“It definitely drives us,” star batsman McDermott said.

“We realise we’ve had a struggle to win those key moments in those big games, which we [also] saw the year before when we lost the final.

“It hurts but it does drive us and we just want to keep playing the way we have been playing and just win those key moments in the key games.

“We’ve got a big loss in ‘Wadey’ but I’m sure we can fill that hole obviously with Dave and either Caleb [Jewell] or Mac [Wright], but I’m sure we will be OK and it is definitely driving our group forward to win those final games.”

McDermott was left out of Australia’s one-day squad for next month’s tour of India, but said he had quickly moved on.

“It is disappointing but it means I get a full season with the Hurricanes and hopefully lock down that middle-order role for us and hopefully the next level as well,” the 25-yearold said.

“I just want to keep playing the way I play, I don’t hold grudges or anything like that.

“I’m just going to go out and play the way I normally play. It is not too much to worry about.”

McDermott captained Tasmania for two 50-over games earlier this season, but this will be his first time in charge of a T20 team.

Not only will he take the leadership role from Wade, but also the wicketkeeping gloves until Wade returns for the second half of the Big Bash League.