Hurricanes homecoming poised to light up Blundstone

The Hobart Hurricanes will return to Blundstone Arena for the first time this season on Saturday hoping to give fans an early Christmas present in the form of a win over the Melbourne Renegades.

Fresh off a six-run loss to the Sydney Sixers on Thursday night, the Hurricanes return to Hobart for their first game at Bellerive this summer against an undefeated Renegades side that has been one of the early jumpers of BBL|12.

Skipper Matthew Wade, a former Renegade himself, said he thought the Renegades would be around the mark before the tournament began and knows the Hurricanes will be in for a challenge in the traditional Christmas Eve clash.

“They’ve come into the tournament with a different strategy, loading up on spin and particularly in the power play, so we will have to have a good chat about that and how we counter what they are doing,” Wade said.

“At the start of the tournament I had them as one of the top teams to beat. I thought the way that they drafted and structured their team would make them hard to beat if they got the conditions to suit their line-up and from what I’ve seen the last few games they’ve definitely got the ball to turn and shift in the air as well. They’ll be a challenge for our batting group but it’s something we are excited about.”

The Hurricanes sit a 1-2 following Thursday’s loss to the Sixers which was reduced to 14 overs due to rain but hold a 3-0 record in the Christmas Eve clash. Chasing 138 for a win, the Hurricanes top order failed to fire, combining for 72 runs before Pakistani import Asif Ali almost secured his side a famous win.

The all-rounder scored 41 runs from just 13 balls, hitting seven boundaries at a strike rate of 315.38 in what was a thrilling performance.

“It was an interesting night. We probably gave away a few too many with the ball and then got ourselves into the game towards the end of it but it was a difficult wicket and we were never really in the game until late,” Wade said. “It was nice to see him (Asif) get out there and we thought this pitch would suit him. He likes slower kind of wickets and it was good to see him get after it.”

The Hurricanes have named an extended squad for the clash with Mitch Owen added to the group that travelled to Sydney.