Henriques Helps Sixers to win Big Bash League Title 2011-12

Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers, BBL final, Perth

Thr Report by Brydon Coverdale

January 28, 2012

Sydney Sixers 3 for 158 (Henriques 70, O'Keefe 48) beat Perth Scorchers 5 for 156 (Marsh 77*, Lee 2-21) by seven wickets

The Sydney Sixers began the Big Bash League as one of the least fancied sides but they won the tournament after Moises Henriques set up their chase in the final against the Perth Scorchers. In front of a WACA crowd desperate to see the state's first silverware - albeit not for the Warriors - in nearly a decade, the Sixers spoiled the party and won by seven wickets.

Mitchell Marsh had excited the Perth fans with a powerful innings of 77 after Marcus North chose to bat, but Brett Lee helped contain the Scorchers to 5 for 156, which was a gettable, though challenging target. Henriques and Steve O'Keefe put together a 110-run opening stand in the chase and it was a start the home side was unable to pull back.

A pair of wickets from Ben Edmondson late in the game gave the Scorchers a sniff, as the Sixers needed 22 from the final three overs. But the Sixers captain Steven Smith procured three boundaries and 15 in total from the next over, a poor one from Nathan Rimmington, and from there it was all very straightforward for the visitors.

They reached their target with seven balls to spare, Smith striking the winning boundary down the ground off Ben Edmondson to finish unbeaten on 21 with Ben Rohrer on 3. Led by the 40-year-old Stuart MacGill and fellow veteran Brett Lee, the Sixers players streamed on to the field to celebrate their triumph, which came with no international imports in the final.

Instead, it was two local allrounders who set the chase on the right path. O'Keefe struggled early, swinging wildly and missing plenty of deliveries as he battled to find his rhythm, but gradually he started to find the middle of the bat. O'Keefe drew confidence from a flat pull for six off Marsh's medium pace, although he was still well behind the tempo of his partner Henriques, who brought up his half-century when O'Keefe had only 21.

Henriques was especially brutal against the spin of Michael Beer, striking a pair of consecutive sixes over long-on and long-off, and he found gaps all around the ground. On 70 from 41 deliveries, Henriques was tricked by the 40-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, who saw Henriques advancing and sent the ball down the leg side for Luke Ronchi to complete the stumping.

O'Keefe kept the chase going well until, on 48, he scooped a catch to short fine leg off Edmondson, two balls after Nic Maddinson (10) had also skied a catch. But Smith and Rohrer ensured the win for the Sixers, a victory that was also due to the bowling of Lee, whose 2 for 21 from four overs helped restrict the Scorchers to a manageable total.

Lee began in the perfect way, with two wickets from the first over of the match. Herschelle Gibbs pulled the first ball of the game straight into the hands of deep square leg and later in the over, Ronchi took a big swipe and was caught behind to leave the Scorchers at 2 for 2. Marcus North steadied the home side until he top-edged a sweep off MacGill on 22.

However, Marsh and Paul Collingwood formed a useful 62-run partnership, Collingwood paddling sweeps and reverse sweeps to cleverly find the gaps while Marsh used his strength to clear the boundary four times. Marsh took 12 off an Henriques over and launched a monster six over long-on off the bowling of O'Keefe.

O'Keefe gave Marsh a life on 55 when he put down a chance at midwicket and in the next over, Marsh made the Sixers pay with a pair of sixes off Mitchell Starc. But Starc grabbed two wickets, Collingwood for 32 and Simon Katich for 12, and Marsh's 77 not out from 57 deliveries was comfortably the standout performance.

In the end, it wasn't enough, as Henriques and O'Keefe made up for their lapses with the ball and in the field. Henriques was named Man of the Match.

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Bowlers and Maddinson Helps Sixers to Reach Final of Big Bash League

Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Sixers, 2nd semi-final, BBL 2011-12, Hobart

Alex Malcolm

January 22, 2012

Sydney Sixers 6 for 153 (Maddinson 68) beat Hobart Hurricanes 7 for 146 (Jaques 63, Lee 2-22) by seven runs

A spot in the Big Bash final, and qualification for the Champions League T20, was left in the hands of 32-year-old Ian Moran, who had only played four Twenty20 games and 13 List A games before the semi-final. The Sydney Sixers' Moran, who has represented Scotland, held his nerve in the last over as the Hobart Hurricanes' Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Michael Hogan failed to find the 18 runs required to win at the Bellerive Oval.

Given the potency of the Hurricanes batting line-up, with two of the three leading run-scorers in the competition in their side, the Sixers looked unlikely to defend 153. But their varied bowling attack, featuring Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, New Zealand's Nathan McCullum and the virtually unknown Moran managed to accomplish what seemed an impossible task. They strangled the Hurricanes to scrape home by eight runs and book a place in the final.

As so often happens in big matches this semi-final hinged on one vital moment. The Hurricanes were 1 for 50, four balls into the ninth over, with an achievable 104 runs required from 67 balls.

The tournament's leading run-scorer, Travis Birt, stood over his bat, wielding it like an axe, facing up to the grey-haired Stuart MacGill. Birt had had one sighter, which he drove powerfully to long-off for a single. MacGill's eyes were focused. The previous ball, Phil Jaques attempted to slog-sweep with the turn over midwicket, but a miscue yielded just a single. MacGill, with all his experience, tossed it up next ball. Birt's eyes lit up as he skipped forward and swung hard. But he misread the perfectly executed wrong 'un, which spun away from his flashing blade, and Peter Nevill completed a simple stumping.

MacGill, and his Sixers team-mates, knew they had struck a decisive blow. The capacity Hobart crowd fell flat. Birt was out for 11, his lowest score of the tournament by some margin. Four balls later, the creative Owais Shah outsmarted himself and was bowled by an innocuous straight ball from McCullum for a duck.

The Hurricanes seemed dead and buried but they did not go down without a fight. Jaques played arguably his finest hand of the tournament. Having got to 33 at a pain-staking run-a-ball, he played consecutive reverse-sweeps for fours in MacGill's third over, which cost 15. Jaques managed consecutive boundaries again off MacGill two overs later: a long-hop was pulled to the fence to bring up Jaques' half-century and another reverse-sweep rubbed salt into MacGill's wound.

Jaques dealt the Sixers another blow when Brett Lee ran into him while trying to stop a drive. Lee bled profusely from the nose, Jaques and Matt Johnston took nine from the over and the Hurricanes were still alive with 47 needed from 24 balls. Steven Smith's double strike in the next over, which included Jaques' dismissal for 63, attempting another reverse-sweep, all but sealed the game.

Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan bowler who has become a cult figure in Australia, played a cameo that was typical of him. The Sixers captain Smith gambled by bowling a second over, the 19th of the innings, and Naved hit two mighty sixes and a four to leave 18 required off the last over. But despite a boundary off Moran's first ball, Naved was stranded with an unbeaten 30 from just 14 balls.

Earlier, the game looked very much in the Hurricanes' control. Xavier Doherty began the night with a wicket-maiden, removing Moises Henriques caught and bowled. It took the Sixers ten balls to register their first run, and Nic Maddinson took until the ninth over to get his runs tally ahead of his number of balls faced.

Maddinson, though, did not panic as wickets fell at the other end. He hit eight fours in a 51-ball 68 that was critical to his side's victory, and saw him named Man of the Match.

The Hurricanes again bowled well with only Jason Krejza leaking more than eight runs an over, but the Sixers managed to bowl that little bit better. Lee was again wonderful with 2 for 22 from his four. Moran's four overs cost just 25, while the spinners, MacGill, McCullum, and Smith, made decisive strikes. The Sixers will meet the Perth Scorchers in the final, which will be played on January 28 at the WACA.

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Mitchell Marsh and Gibbs Power Scorchers to the Final of Big Bash League

Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars, 1st semi-final, Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff

January 21, 2012

Perth Scorchers 3 for 174 (Gibbs 71, Mitchell Marsh 41*) beat Melbourne Stars 8 for 163 (Faulkner 38) by 11 runs

Perth Scorchers became the first team to secure a place in the finals of the Big Bash League, and the Champions League T20, after a convincing victory over Shane Warne's Melbourne Stars at a packed WACA ground. Herschelle Gibbs and Mitchell Marsh provided the fireworks at the start and end of the Scorchers' innings, before a double-wicket maiden from Ben Edmondson sucked the momentum out of the Stars' chase. Marsh also chipped in with two wickets and two catches to walk off with the Man-of-the-Match award.

In the first half of the chase, Luke Wright and James Faulkner put the Stars on course to overhaul the target of 175, reaching 88 for 2 after ten overs. Enter Edmondson, to swing the match the Scorchers' way. He had Wright swinging a catch to midwicket before getting the vital wicket of David Hussey for a golden duck courtesy a diving take from wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi. The perfect time for Edmondson to bowl his first maiden of the tournament.

There was still plenty of batting to come for the Stars' but they slipped further off course as Marsh removed Adam Voges and Cameron White in successive overs. Matthew Wade reeled off a few sixes to keep the Stars' fans hoping, but it proved too tall a target.

The Stars' would have been chasing a more modest total if they had been tighter in the field. Both the Scorchers' openers, Gibbs and Marcus North, were reprieved early in their innings, though both were difficult chances. Wade then fumbled a simple stumping that would have sent back Paul Collingwood.

Gibbs was the driving force behind the Scorchers' innings till his dismissal in the 17th over. He gave them a bright start by dispatching the first ball of the match through cover for four, and then smashing the first three deliveries of the second to the cover boundary. His stroke-filled innings ended when he top-edged a catch back to the bowler, but there was hardly any slackening of the pace as Marsh clubbed four sixes in the final three overs.

The Scorchers now await the winners of Sunday's clash between Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers in the final, at home next Saturday.

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Big Bash League Semi-Final Tickets at WACA Sell Out in 30 Minutes

Big Bash League 2011-12

Daniel Brettig and Alex Malcolm

January 20, 2012

Australian cricket has not seen such ferocious demand for tickets since the bloodlust of the 2006-07 Ashes series when Australian cricket fans clicked, clicked, and clicked again to purchase Ashes seats, only to send Cricket Australia's ticket sales operator into meltdown.

There was no website crash today but it took just 30 minutes* for the WACA to sell out ahead of Saturday night's Big Bash League semi-final between the Perth Scorchers and the Melbourne Stars.

There are mitigating factors of course. The WACA, alongside Bellerive, is the smallest cricket venue in Australia, with a capacity of around 20,000. The Shane Warne road show is also in town. The 42-year-old has been playing at sold out venues all tournament.

Perth also has form. In 2005, 20,071 fans packed into the WACA for the first professional T20 ever played in Australia, a one-off experimental match between Western Australia and Victoria. Again Warne was in action. But more attended that night than to any international in the preceding 24 years.

But when you consider this is cricket's "show about nothing", a competition that in its current form is as old as David Warner's Test career, with franchises that were created from thin air, featuring players that will only play together for six weeks, it is astonishing to think of the crowd support and television figures the competition has generated. Host broadcaster Fox Sports have boasted record ratings, whilst the crowd numbers have swelled throughout the tournament.

Brisbane had record domestic crowds at the Gabba. The MCG hosted more than 40,000 for a Melbourne derby that was shortened by rain. Likewise, the Sydney derby was rain-affected, yet 31,262 still made the journey to ANZ Stadium in Sydney's west.

Now a sell-out in Perth, and most likely a packed house in Hobart, will witness the inaugural Big Bash League semi-finals.

All of this is even more impressive considering the interest surrounding the longest version of the game has never been stronger. The Border-Gavaskar trophy, already secured by Australia, has played out in front of full houses in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth with the Adelaide Test still to come.

Even the traditionally low-drawing New Zealand managed a record audience at the Gabba for the first Test.

Cricket Australia officials, without precise figures, claim they are on track to register the highest ever combined total attendance for cricket across all forms, both international and domestic, in a single summer.

Given the amount of time, money, and energy they have poured into selling the Big Bash League in its new, and apparently improved format, they would be ecstatic with the results.

With a sell-out already locked in for the first semi-final, it did not need any extra selling points. But someone forgot to tell Brad Hogg. The rejuvenated 40-year-old took umbrage to Melbourne Stars coach Greg Shipperd's criticism of the scheduling, claiming the Stars were unfairly disadvantaged by the two-day turn-around from their Thursday night clash with the Adelaide Strikers to the Saturday night semi against the Scorchers.

Hogg did not miss Shipperd when asked for his thoughts.

"Stop complaining, seriously," Hogg said on Friday. "There are people out there digging holes for a living and we're actually playing cricket. I grew up on a farm and did a lot of sheep work and that. When you do get paid for doing what you love, you appreciate it a lot more.

"There's absolutely no complaints. You can get me on a plane tomorrow and I'll go and play for anyone. I just love the game. So stop whingeing."

Saturday night is suddenly a mouth-watering prospect. With Warne, Hogg, and three hours of action-packed cricket to look forward to, it is no surprise it took 30 minutes to sell out.

* - 14.20GMT - The tickets were sold out in 30 minutes and not seconds, as was earlier reported. The error has been corrected.

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McKay and Hussey Take Stars to Semis

Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers, BBL, MCG

The Report by Andrew Fuss

January 19, 2012

Melbourne Stars 4 for 129 (Hussey 41*, White 28) beat Adelaide Strikers 125 (Ferguson 41, McKay 3-17) by six wickets

Melbourne Stars have earned a spot in the semi-finals, knocking Brisbane Heat out of fourth place with a comfortable six-wicket win over Adelaide Strikers at the MCG.

The Stars' pace attack did most of the damage on a tacky MCG deck with Man of the Match Clint McKay leading the way, taking 3 for 17 off his four overs, including the key wickets of opening pair Daniel Harris and Michael Klinger.

The Strikers failed to live up to their moniker, struggling to strike the ball cleanly throughout the innings, managing just four boundaries and one six. Callum Ferguson's 41 off just 29 balls was the only resistance for the visitors as they were bundled out for 125, the last six wickets falling for just 25 runs.

The hosts got off to a shaky start in reply, losing Rob Quiney to a brilliant bit of fielding from Nathan Lyon off his own bowling, taking the ball cleanly and flicking the ball back at the stumps to catch Quiney short of his ground.

And when New Zealand import James Franklin and former Victoria spinner Bryce McGain struck in consecutive overs, the Strikers were in with a chance - the Stars stumbling to 3 for 38 off seven overs.

Out of form Stars captain Cameron White - who had made just 13 runs in his previous six innings - strode to the crease with the game on the line and finally found the middle of the bat, working his way to 28 before hauling out on the boundary with just 24 runs to get.

Despite some tight bowling from Striker's spin pair Nathan Lyon (20 runs off 3.5 overs) and Aaron O'Brien (12 runs off his four overs), David Hussey (41 off 36 balls) guided the hosts to victory with seven balls to spare.

The Stars' win means they will travel to Perth to play the Scorchers on Saturday, while the Hurricanes will host the Sixers on Sunday.

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Sixers Clinch Thriller But Scorchers Get Home Semi-Final of Big Bash League

Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne Renegades, BBL, Hobart

The Report by Alex Malcolm

January 18, 2012

Sydney Sixers 176 (Smith 51, Maddinson 49, Coulter-Nile 3-38) beat Perth Scorchers 6 for 175 (North 59, Ronchi 34, Starc 3-28) by one run

Neither side deserved to lose, but neither side really knew how to win. In the end just one run separated the two sides with Marcus North run out off the last ball to give Sydney Sixers the narrowest of victories over Perth Scorchers.

There were so many plots, sub-plots, so much drama and chaos but it all came down to the last over. The Scorchers needed 13 runs. Brett Lee needed to keep them to a maximum 11. Lee used all of his 11 and then some to give his side victory.

Nathan Coulter-Nile took a single off the first ball, before North went within inches of clearing the long-off rope with the next. The ball bounced just short and over for four. Had it travelled another foot the result of the match may have been different. North drove to long-on and wanted a second run off the third. Steve Smith pounced and fired a return, and had Coulter-Nile not sent his captain back in time, he would have been run out.

The best was yet to come. Coulter-Nile swung and missed at Lee's fourth ball. The equation became seven from two. The penultimate delivery produced exultation, exasperation, relief, and ultimately frustration in a chaotic 15 seconds. Lee bowled Coulter-Nile via the inside edge to send the home fans into raptures. Excitement became despair when they saw umpire Simon Fry signal a no-ball. Coulter-Nile's relief was evident, having stepped off into the gallows only for the rope to snap. Then the frustration swept across the ground when replays showed Lee's heal had landed behind the line only to slide over as he delivered. A legal delivery, incorrectly judged, had cost his team a wicket, a run, and a free-hit.

Lee lost his nerve. His next was a wide. The equation had gone from seven off two, to five off two in the most extraordinary circumstances. Coulter-Nile swiped the next through midwicket with him and North scampering through for two. Coulter-Nile, having earlier claimed three wickets with the ball, needed three runs to win from the last having struggled to 10 from his previous 12 balls. He miscued Lee towards long-on, they ran one, North came back for two, but with 19.5 overs of running under his belt, his legs wilted. Smith's throw was pure and Lee removed the bails to hand Sydney an incredible win.

The irony was the result had no bearing on the standings for either team. North's composed 59 had ensured Perth finished top of the table and gained a home semi-final. Had they failed to reach 151 they would not have had that luxury, and Sydney would have hosted a semi-final. Man-of-the-Match Mitchell Starc earlier made that result a possibility. The Scorchers had cruised to 0-32 from four overs, in pursuit of 177, before Starc turned the game on its head. Starc took three wickets in an over to put his name up for re-selection in Adelaide. He did his Test team-mate Shaun Marsh no favours. The left-hander missed a low full toss and was bowled for a run-a-ball 18. Starc bowled Mitchell Marsh with the next, swinging one back through the right-hander's defence. Starc had sought council from one of world's greatest left-arm quicks, Wasim Akram, during the week. Akram would have been proud of the third wicket. It was not a hat-trick but it was three in five balls, with Paul Collingwood trapped on the back leg by a searing, Akram-esque, in swinging yorker.

North was ably supported by Simon Katich to resurrect the innings and stave off disaster. Katich had the unusual experience of being booed to the crease as a Scorchers player, on the same ground he only recently was cheered as New South Wales captain. He had company, with Perth team-mate Josh Lalor playing his first domestic limited-overs fixture since he represented NSW against Western Australia at the same ground in November.

North and Katich combined for 36 before North was given a life. Brad Haddin dropped a diving chance to his left, having earlier been dismissed for a duck. The Scorchers handed back the momentum when Katich was needlessly run out. Luke Ronchi then played a gem of an innings. His 34 from 13 brought the Scorchers within striking distance only for North and Coulter-Nile to fall agonisingly short.

The Sixers' batting effort followed a similar pattern to the Scorchers chase. Haddin and Michael Lumb both fell early before Nic Maddinson and Moises Henriques steadied. Brad Hogg removed both men in another brilliant spell of left-arm wrist-spin. His spinning partner Michael Beer was again equally miserly with 1-28 from four, whilst Coulter-Nile and Ben Edmondson took five wickets between them.

But both quicks were expensive, mainly at the hands of Steve Smith who clubbed 51 from 25 balls in an exceptional display of ball striking. He was very unlucky to be dismissed, with a ball ricocheting from bat, to pad, to stumps with the type of trickery a snooker player would be proud of. The Sixers made a hash of the final two overs of their innings, losing 5 for 8 to be bowled out with the last ball of the innings. But in the end they made enough runs to get the win. Just enough.

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Owais Shah Helps Hurricanes to Secure Home Semi-Final of Big Bash League

Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne Renegades, BBL, Hobart

The Report by Alex Malcolm

January 18, 2012

Hobart Hurricanes 3 for 175 (Wells 72, Shah 49*) beat Melbourne Renegades 4 for 173 (Finch 67, Hodge 63, Krejza 3-39) by seven wickets

Extraordinary. Thrilling. Bizarre. That summed up Hobart Hurricanes' last gasp victory over Melbourne Renegades at Bellerive Oval, which secured Xavier Doherty's side a Big Bash League semi-final at home.

Chasing 174, it came down to the last over. Renegades captain Andrew McDonald gambled by entrusting Shahid Afridi with the job. Hurricanes needed 10 to win from Afridi's six balls.

Before that climax, Renegades had been in control. Hurricanes needed 52 off 30 balls with Owais Shah on 26 and Jonathon Wells on 62. Afridi conceded 18 from the 16th over, including one delivery that cost five wides, as he was unable to combat the pre-delivery movement and unusual hitting of Shah.

Shah was still there at the start of the final over but he was stuck at the non-striker's end. Phil Jaques had moved down the order to five to accommodate Mark Cosgrove's inclusion. With 8 from 4 balls faced, Jaques top-edged a reverse-sweep over short third man for three runs. The equation was seven off five. Shah cut the next to point for one. Six off four. Afidi fired a quicker full toss that struck Jaques on the pad. No run. Jaques squeezed a single from the next, leaving Shah five to win from two balls. Afridi was on the verge of being the hero.

Then the twist. Shah backed away, Afridi fired full and wide, Shah managed to edge it fine to third man for four. Hobart needed one off the last ball to avoid a super over. Afridi obliged with a wide. Shah was not required to play a shot to win his side the game. He was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 49 from 30 balls.

Earlier in the game, Renegades looked like they had saved their best performance of the tournament for their last appearance. After winning the toss, Brad Hodge and Aaron Finch rollicked along in the Hobart sun. They thumped an opening stand of 126 from just 13.3 overs. Finch made 67, Hodge 63, as the pair struck four sixes and thirteen boundaries between them. The coup de grace was Finch's three consecutive sixes against Jason Krejza. The offspinner had the last laugh, though, having Finch caught at long-off. Despite being expensive, Krejza picked up three important wickets.

Renegades were unable to capitalise on the incredible foundation that was laid. After Hodge departed in the 14th over, they managed just 43 from the last 36 deliveries of the innings.

It made the chase an enticing one for the inform Hobart top-order. Jonathan Wells made his highest score of the tournament - a well-compiled 72 from 61 balls. He was ably supported by the Big Bash League's leading run-scorer, Travis Birt, who clubbed 25 from 16 balls, including three sixes in the space of six balls.

When Afridi trapped Birt lbw, Renegades regained the ascendancy before Shah entered to do what he does best. He controlled the chased with clever placement and superb timing. He did leave it to the last ball to seal victory, but he got the result he required and secured his team a home semi-final in the process.

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Christian Keeps Heat in Finals Race

Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder, BBL, Brisbane

The Report by Andrew Fuss

January 17, 2012

Brisbane Heat 195 for 4 (Christian 75*, Lynn 37) beat Sydney Thunder 104 for 6 (Khawaja 37) by 91 runs

The Brisbane Heat have sensationally moved into fourth place in the Big Bash points table thanks to a crushing win over the Sydney Thunder at the Gabba.

Having lost their first four matches, the Heat seemed out of the finals' race. But three consecutive wins including tonight's 91-run win has pushed them ahead of the Stars on net run-rate.

The Heat will now rely on the Adelaide Strikers defeating the Melbourne Stars in Thursday's do-or-die clash at the MCG.

The Thunder started positively with debutant Nick Bills removing the dangerous Brendon McCullum for just 6 before Scott Coyte had Matthew Hayden caught at mid-on the next over.

But two partnerships anchored by Man of the Match Dan Christian (75 off 47 balls) stabilised the innings before he and Chris Lynn (37 off 17) plundered 71 runs off just 27 balls to set up a huge target.

Coyte (1 for 23) was the pick of the bowlers for the young Thunder side, who were fielding two debutants - Bills and Matthew Day.

Brisbane got off to a dream start with the ball with Alister McDermott removing the most dangerous man in world T20 cricket, Chris Gayle, first ball to a short and wide delivery outside off that Gayle edged through to the keeper.

Tim Cruickshank was gone later that over and the visitors went into their shells, struggling for runs and losing wickets at regular intervals to slump to the biggest runs loss in the Big Bash League this year.

All eyes will now be on Thursday night's clash between the Stars and the Strikers, with four teams vying for just one spot in the finals. The Thunder are almost certain to finish the season in last place.

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Brisbane Heat Secures Victory and Keep Semi-Final Hopes Alive

Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat, BBL, Melbourne

The Report by Daniel Brettig

January 12, 2012

Brisbane Heat 168 for 7 (Vettori 40, van der Merwe 34, Afridi 3-35) beat Melbourne Renegades 156 for 9 (Finch 72, McDermott 3-18) by 12 runs

Astute bowling from Alister McDermott followed lively innings from Daniel Vettori and Roelof van der Merwe to shut out the Melbourne Renegades and keep the Brisbane Heat in touch with a semi-final spot under the roof at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.

Aaron Finch made a strong-armed 72 in the Renegades' chase but had far too little support in a result that left four teams on four points - all with some chance of unseating the Melbourne Stars to claim the last berth in the top four.

Shahid Afridi and Aaron Heal had delivered some arresting overs of spin for Melbourne to reduce the Heat to 5 for 75, but Vettori and van der Merwe added 72 in 42 balls to revive the innings, and the visiting bowlers were disciplined enough to hold out the hosts.

McDermott showed tremendous control, and was well supported by Vettori, Daniel Christian and Michael Neser, who also claimed three wickets. Vettori was named Man Of The Match for his runs and tidy overs.

The Renegades had made a change to the batting order for their chase, promoting Afridi to open. His partner Brad Hodge did not last long, swinging in ungainly fashion at Christian and having his stumps spread-eagled, but Afridi connected with a handful of telling blows to help Finch take 19 from van der Merwe's first over.

McDermott intervened to end Afridi's stay on 26, via a catch at midwicket, and Andrew McDonald followed soon after when his drive failed to clear long-on. Those wickets quelled the hosts' momentum, and a big over was required.

Finch duly delivered in Nathan Hauritz's second over, though the bowler did not help himself by serving up a front-foot no-ball - the unforgivable sin for a slow bowler. The no-ball and the free hit both sailed over the straight boundary, and three sixes in the over, plus a wide, a single and a two, meant 23 runs in the space of six legal deliveries.

Neser stemmed the scoring in the very next over, accounting for Nathan Reardon and Abdul Razzaq to leave Finch seemingly short of batting support. Glenn Maxwell, injured in the field, struck a pair of flat boundaries before skying a catch, and it was left to the former South Australia gloveman Graham Manou to accompany Finch.

Manou showed more experience and sense than some of his predecessors, giving Finch plenty of strike, and the younger man responded with runs. In the 17th over he swung van der Merwe to the midwicket fence, where Chris Lynn took a fine catch but had to throw the ball away before he went over the rope.

Well as Finch had played, the run-rate continued to climb, and from the final ball of the 18th over he sought a risky second run that became fatal when Andrew Robinson managed to hit the stumps from long-on. Manou could only find the boundary with difficulty, and 17 were required from McDermott's final over - far too many against a fast-medium bowler putting the ball more or less where he willed it.

Batting first, Heat were handed a frightful start when Nannes swung the ball late from wide of the crease to open up Robinson and flick his off stump. The No. 3 Lynn was more solid, and Matthew Hayden blustered away to some effect without ever quite timing the ball as he once used to.

A passage of crafty spin followed, with Heal deceiving Hayden and Afridi collecting the next three wickets in the space of four balls, spread over two overs. His googly was particularly effective, bowling Peter Forrest between bat and pad then pinning Christian in front of middle stump.

At 5 for 74 the Heat may well have subsided quickly, but Vettori and van der Merwe provided an intelligent partnership of 72 from 42 deliveries. Vettori's 40 featured some deft flicks over the legside field, and van der Merwe followed suit with a pair of sixes of his own. Afridi's last over went for 14 runs, denting his figures considerably.

A few more big hits meant the Heat had piled up 97 from their second 10 overs, reaching a far better total than had seemed possible at the halfway point of the innings.

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Scorchers Seal Huge Victory and Qualify For Semi-Finals of Big Bash League

Sydney Thunder v Perth Scorchers, BBL, Sydney

The Report by Alex Malcolm

January 11, 2012

Perth Scorchers 103 for 1 (Marsh 64*, North 38*) beat Sydney Thunder 99 (Coulter-Nile 3-9) by nine wickets

Perth employed a scorched-earth policy at Stadium Australia tonight. Even without star-import Herschelle Gibbs, they obliterated Sydney Thunder to secure their fifth consecutive win and ensure a home semi-final.

Gibbs, with three half-centuries in five innings in the Big Bash, withdrew before the game began due to a foot injury, but his absence was not felt after Scorchers steamrolled Thunder for just 99. The home side could not bat out their twenty overs after choosing to bat.

Scorchers were white-hot with the ball and in the field, led by Nathan Coulter-Nile. The 24-year-old quick bowled with great pace and energy on a sluggish drop-in pitch. He knocked over Thunder's much-vaunted top three. First to fall was Usman Khawaja, who nicked a delivery that climbed a little higher than expected. Not all were convinced about the edge, Coulter-Nile did not even appeal, but Luke Ronchi was certain as he gleefully accepted the catch.

Second to fall was Chris Gayle. The Jamaican looked in ominous touch again, having reached 20 with two fours and a six. But a big swipe at Coulter-Nile yielded only a thin outside edge. Umpire Mick Martell initially shook his head but was over-ruled by the third umpire based on camera footage only. There is no traditional challenge system in place, but there is a form of review in exceptional circumstances. Martell changed his decision, via information from the third umpire, to send a perplexed Gayle on his way to a chorus of boos from 12,000 fans.

There was no doubt about Coulter-Nile's third scalp. Four balls after Gayle's departure Daniel Smith drove, with his feet anchored, at a 143kph carrot wide of off stump. Mitchell Marsh pouched the very sharp edge at slip with ease. Coulter-Nile had 3 for 6 from 12 balls and Thunder were half way down a very slippery slope at the conclusion of the sixth over.

The most energetic 40-year-old in Australia, Brad Hogg, was introduced in the seventh over and he bamboozled the two left-hand batsmen, Ben Dunk and Jason Floros, with a mixture of sharp turning leg-breaks and exceptional wrong-un's. Floros had no luck playing straight. So he elected to sweep and was promptly bowled by Hogg.

Luke Butterworth then took on Hogg with a strange hit and run. Hogg ran him out in the manner of Jonty Rhodes in his prime. It was the first of four direct hit run-outs from Scorchers. Nathan Rimmington accounted for Dunk, before Coulter-Nile twice swooped with elegance, and ease, to pull off two direct hits in six balls to end the innings. Few fast bowlers can field with as much skill, fluidity, and grace as Coulter-Nile. He deserved to be named Man of the Match.

Perth only looked vulnerable in the match for one fleeting moment. Luke Ronchi was clean bowled by Scott Coyte with the second ball of the chase. Thereafter it was all Marcus North and Marsh. The pair cruised to the target with 35 balls to spare. Marsh was particularly destructive hitting five sixes in his unbeaten 64. Anything fractionally short or angled down leg side was dispatched with raw power over the square boundary. Just to prove his abilities were not limited to one zone he hit two sixes off Trent Copeland in three balls. The first sailed down the ground over straight long-on, the second was clubbed inside-out over cover.

North remained the silent partner, but a slog-sweep off Floros over midwicket showed he also had the power to clear the rope. His dexterity to glide Coyte to the third-man boundary to seal victory epitomised how easy the win was for Scorchers.

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Sydney Sixers Beat Adelaide Strikers and Cement Their Place in Top 4 Teams of Big Bash League

Adelaide Strikers v Sydney Sixers, BBL, Adelaide

The Report by Andrew Fuss

January 10, 2012

Sydney Sixers 151 for 8 (Henriques 42, Thomas 3-24) beat Adelaide Strikers 87 (O'Keefe 3-20, MacGill 2-12) by 64 runs

The Sydney Sixers cruised to an easy 64-run win over the hapless Adelaide Strikers to cement their place in the top four of the Big Bash League.

Adelaide appeared to have restricted the Sixers to a gettable target of 151, thanks to some tight bowling from Alfonso Thomas who took 3 for 24 off his four overs. He was well supported by spinners Daniel Salpietro and Aaron O'Brien, who were miserly with their mixed bag of spin.

Nic Maddinson smashed 31 off 20 and looked in good form before Salpietro removed him, caught at point. Moises Henriques was the only other Sixer to impress with the bat, building an innings of 42 of 37 deliveries to help the visitors past the 150-run mark.

But the Strikers never got started, losing the captain Michael Klinger in the first over thanks to a brilliant catch from veteran Stuart MacGill.

Some brilliant spin bowling followed from Steven O'Keefe and Nathan McCullum, both in their first appearances for the season. The pair combined to rip through the Stikers middle order, taking 4 for 16 to all but end Adelaide's finals' hopes. The Sixers move into third with a home match against the Scorchers in the final round of matches set to possibly decide who gets a home semi-final.

Man of the match O'Keefe finished with the impressive figures of 3 for 20 off four overs. MacGill also impressed - despite his anger towards the umpire for having to remove his hand towel so as not to distract the batsman - finishing with 2 for 12 off his four overs.

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Luke Wright's Fastest Big Bash League Century Gives Melbourne Stars Huge Victory

Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne Stars, BBL, Hobart

The Report by Alex Malcolm

January 9, 2012

Melbourne Stars 3 for 203 (Wright 117, Quiney 62) beat Hobart Hurricanes 9 for 184 (Owais 55, Birt 51, Faulkner 4-46) by 19 runs

Luke Wright must have felt right at home tonight. Conditions were akin to an icy, wet, January evening in the UK and the Englishman produced an innings that lit up a dull Hobart sky. In doing so, he broke nearly every Australian domestic Twenty20 batting record to help the Melbourne Stars to a crucial victory over the ladder-leading Hobart Hurricanes. Wright thumped an extraordinary 117 from 60 deliveries with eight fours and nine sixes to leave the 13,713 in attendance breathless, and launch his side up to third position on a very congested Big Bash League table.

Wright and Robert Quiney (62) justified their captain's decision to bat as they combined for the highest partnership in Australian domestic T20s. Along the way Wright set record after record of his own. He reached 50 from 23 balls, the fastest half-century in this BBL. That record was broken by Travis Birt an hour later. But Wright's hundred from 44 balls will be a record that will take some breaking. He brought it up with a big straight six off the usually miserly Xavier Doherty.

The consistency of Wright's hitting was astonishing and he generated great power to knife several balls through the icy, gale-force wind and beyond the rope on nine occasions.

Wright and Quiney were helped significantly by some jittery fielding during their 172-run stand. Hobart dropped four catches between the pair, including each player off consecutive deliveries. Eventually Birt clung on a Quiney missile on the midwicket rope. The Hurricanes dropped a fifth catch, off Matthew Wade this time, in the final over. Ironically, it probably helped rather than hindered their cause, as it meant David Hussey faced only three balls rather than four. Hussey steered two near-perfect yorkers from Ben Laughlin to the backward point rope to lift the total beyond 200.

It looked a target beyond the Hurricanes' reach when Phil Jaques miscued to mid-on second ball of the innings. Enter Birt. In the fourth over from Jackson Bird he launched a six down the ground and then flat batted another one over the point rope.

The next over from Clint McKay was carnage. After copping the first ball on the thigh, Birt swatted the next two to opposing square boundaries for four. That was the entrée. For the main course he swept the fourth ball, a low full toss, over fine leg and out of the ground. The fifth and sixth were no-balls, and they both were dispatched miles over the midwicket fence to take Birt to 51 from 22 balls. Birt would not add to it though as he dragged the next ball onto his stumps. McKay's over cost 28 runs, featured three dot balls, and claimed the crucial wicket of Birt.

Owais Shah immediately picked up the slack, continuing his outstanding form in the tournament. He danced around the wicket with typical style and flourish. His 55 from 37 kept Hobart in the hunt but when he fell to James Faulkner the chase was over. The Tasmanian left-armer claimed four important wickets for the Melbourne side although they came at a cost of 46.

Yet again the masterful craft of Shane Warne and the clever guile of Hussey were features of the Stars' bowling effort. Warne claimed 2 for 23, and Hussey 2 for 28 to effectively strangle the chase, after the Hurricanes spinners had gone for more than 13 an over as a pair.

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Hogg Spins Scorchers to Clinical Victory

Perth Scorchers v Adelaide Strikers, BBL, Perth

The Report by Daniel Brettig

January 8, 2012

Perth Scorchers 5 for 184 (North 70, Gibbs 65) beat Adelaide Strikers 142 (Hogg 3-20) by 42 runs

A sprightly Brad Hogg incited panic among the Adelaide Strikers with a consummate spell of left-arm wrist spin to deliver the Perth Scorchers a 42-run victory at the WACA. The Strikers were motoring in pursuit of the hosts' 5 for 184 until Hogg flummoxed Michael Klinger in his first over, and followed up by dismissing the visiting captain and Tom Cooper in his second.

Michael Beer chimed in with the wicket of Callum Ferguson, and by the end of the night Hogg had scooped 3 for 20 from his four overs while also knocking Aaron O'Brien's drive onto the stumps to run-out Cameron Borgas. Ferguson and Klinger were both stumped adeptly by Luke Ronchi, another key contributor to the Scorchers' defence.

Herschelle Gibbs and Marcus North had made attractive runs to lift Perth to their total, despite the parsimony of O'Brien and two wickets from the young spinner James Muirhead, who has a promising leg break but needs to polish his fielding.

Daniel Harris and Klinger had begun the Strikers' chase in a most intelligent and productive fashion, picking off boundaries with neatly lofted strokes, though never resorting to anything too wild. One Klinger straight drive from Nathan Rimmington was as clean as anything struck in the tournament so far, while Harris earned six when his drive off Nathan Coulter-Nile landed on the rope at wide long off.

They had added 48 in less than five overs when Harris played inside a Ben Edmondson delivery that flicked off stump. Adam Crosthwaite followed a charge and drive redolent of Dean Jones with an ill-advised hook and a running catch for Hogg, but Klinger continued to pierce the gaps and keep the run-rate around 10 per over.

He was held up for the first time in the innings by Hogg, who began with two perfectly-pitched googlies to beat Klinger's pressing blade and conceded only four runs from his first over. The pressure told on Ferguson, who stumbled out of his crease when Michael Beer drifted one down the legside and was stumped by a yard.

Klinger could not make head or tail of Hogg, and the first ball of his second over slipped past the Strikers captain for Ronchi to complete another fine stumping, this time removing the bails with Klinger's foot judged to be on the line. Tom Cooper then swung Hogg to deep backward square where Edmondson held the catch on the jog. Hogg's bowling had turned the innings, and Adelaide would not threaten the target.

Gibbs has been providing a decent helping of crisp strokeplay at the top of the order for the Scorchers, and here he pinged three boundaries from Brendan Drew's first over through midwicket, gully and cover, the third from a free-hit after the bowler had overstepped.

Daniel Salpietro's unassuming offspin was greeted with a Gibbs six first ball, and the South African flayed two further boundaries in the over to lift the hosts to 48 from five overs. Harris' first over was treated with similar contempt, three full tosses put away, though the third might have been stopped by Muirhead, who was struggling in the outfield and had already dropped North at square leg.

As such, Muirhead had some compensating to do with the ball, and he duly found a nicely pitched leg break that landed short of where Gibbs wanted it and drew a skied drive to long-off. North by now was getting into stride, cracking a pair of wonderfully clean sixes from the bowling of Muirhead and Salpietro, but he lost Mitchell Marsh when Drew found some extra bounce outside off stump.

Paul Collingwood rattled up 18 runs, all of them from the bowling of Muirhead, before another delivery of useful loop and drop fetched a second wicket from an outfield catch. The final overs were suitably hectic, North's composed innings ended when he was first dropped at long-on then run-out as Drew recovered to fire in a flat return.

The Scorchers are now level with the Hobart Hurricanes at the top of the table, while Adelaide are stalled with three other sides on four points.

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Sixers Beat Thunder in Rain-Affected Clash

Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers, BBL, Sydney

Andrew Fuss

January 8, 2012

16 overs Sydney Sixers 7 for 117 (Rohrer 38) beat Sydney Thunder 4 for 29 (Starc 3-17) by 17 runs by D/L Method

A lethal spell of swing bowling from Mitchell Starc led the Sydney Sixers to a 17-run win in a rain-affected game over cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder at Stadium Australia.

Starc, who has been added to the Australian Test squad for Perth next week against India, showed why he's rated so highly, by destroying the Thunder's top order, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick on his way to 3 for 17.

Brett Lee bowled brilliantly in tandem with Starc, the veteran quick claiming the vital wicket of Chris Gayle for a duck.

With five overs required to constitute a match, the early stages of the Thunder's chase was always going to be vital and the par score was well above the 4 for 29 they finished on when the match was called off.

Earlier, Fidel Edwards used the moist conditions to his advantage, swinging and seaming his way through a dangerous four-over spell to start the match. The Sixers middle order then collapsed, losing 4 for 6 in the space of just two overs, including a rare diamond duck to Dominic Thornely.

Ben Rohrer led a lower order fightback, smashing four boundaries and a six before the allrounder Sean Abbott claimed him for 38 (off 24 balls). Edwards was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 1 for 21 off his four overs while fellow West Indian Gayle was miserly, conceding just 18 runs off his three overs.

The Sixers move into the top four with a key away clash against the Adelaide Strikers on Tuesday to determine their finals' fate. The Thunders host Perth Scorchers on Wednesday in a must-win game if they are to make the finals.

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Melbourne Stars Beat Melbourne Renegades in Rain-Effected Match

Stars v Renegades, BBL, MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff

January 7, 2012

Melbourne Stars 5 for 167 (Hussey 51) beat Melbourne Renegades 3 for 58 (Maxwell 28) by 11 runs (D/L method)

Melbourne Stars raised themselves to fifth spot with a 11-run victory in a rain-hit derby at the MCG. David Hussey held together their innings with 51, while an array of smaller contributions from the rest lifted the Stars to 167 in front of a 40,000-plus crowd.

The Melbourne Renegades' chase was interrupted by rain as early as the second over but the brief stoppage caused the game to be reduced by only one over. In the ninth over, however, the showers returned and were heavier, ending the match, and the D/L calculations showed the Renegades were 12 short of the target. They had already lost the key wickets of Brad Hodge and Aaron Finch, though their overseas signings, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq, were still to bat.

For the Stars, runs continued to be elusive for captain Cameron White - his scores so far are 1, 1, 3, 2,1 - but the rest all reached double digits to steer the Stars to a competitive total. Hussey played a measured innings by Twenty20 standards and made his second half-century of the tournament - he is now the third highest run-getter of the BBL - while Luke Wright and Matthew Wade provided the big hits at the start and end of the innings.

Afridi's mix of googlies and faster ones made him the most effective of the Renegades' bowlers with 2 for 20, but the rain denied him a chance to make a similar impact with the bat, leaving his team near the foot of the table.

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Brisbane Heat Beat Hobart Hurricanes in Nail-Biting Thriller

Brisbane Heat v Hobart Hurricanes, BBL 2011-12, Brisbane

Andrew Fuss

January 6, 2012

Brisbane Heat 4 for 201 (Hayden 76, Robinson 44) beat Hobart Hurricanes 4 for 198 (Birt 74, Owais Shah 69) by 3 runs

The Brisbane Heat have pulled off the upset of the season by holding on for a nail-biting three-run victory over the previously undefeated Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba.

It was top playing bottom leading in to the game but it looked anything like that as the winless Heat got off to a flyer, scoring a season-best 71 off the Powerplay, thanks to Matthew Hayden's 76 off 51 balls and Andrew Robinson's 44 off 28.

The pair put on 100 for the opening wicket in just 8.4 overs before Robinson was run out by an athletic piece of fielding from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

Part-timer Rhett Lockyear removed the dangerous Daniel Christian for 8 before skipper Peter Forrest's 33 off 18 helped the hosts reach the highest score in the competition this season, 201.

Jonathan Wells scored 24 off 18 and Phil Jaques got 27 off 22 to get the visitors off to a steady start, but several tight overs late in the Powerplay from Roelof van der Merwe and Michael Neser had the Hurricanes well behind the required-rate, which peaked at more than 14 runs per over.

Nathan Hauritz then dropped a simple catch that Travis Birt had looped up to him at long-off when on just 31. Birt went on to make the Heat pay, scoring 74 off 36 balls, and combining with England international Owais Shah (69 off 44) for a blistering 141-run partnership to give the Hurricanes a chance at victory.

The visitors required 16 off the last over and when Shah hit youngster Alistair McDermott for a boundary followed by a six, the impossible run-chase looked like it might just come off; the Hurricanes needed just four off two balls.

But McDermott had other ideas, fielding brilliantly off his own bowling to dismiss Birt, who had been backing up, before dismissing Shah off the last ball of the innings, caught by Christian on the rope, to leave the visitors agonisingly short of an unlikely victory.

The Hurricanes remain in top spot, with Shane Warne's Melbourne Stars to visit Tasmania on Monday, while the Heat - despite their victory - remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder with an away fixture to the Melbourne Renegades their next challenge.

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Perth Scorchers Beat Melbourne Stars in Tight Match

Melbourne Stars v Perth Scorchers, BBL, MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff

January 4, 2012

Perth Scorchers 136 (Gibbs 69, Faulkner 3-17) beat Melbourne Stars 5 for 128 (Wade 58*) by eight runs

The Perth Scorchers successfully defended 136 against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG, to win a match that had its fair share of dramatic moments by eight runs. The win puts Marcus North's Scorchers at No. 2 on the points table after the fourth round of games, while Shane Warne's Stars are languishing at second-to-last with just one win.

The Scorchers chose to bat and were steered through most of their innings by Herschelle Gibbs, who top scored with 69 off 48 balls - he fetched the Player of the Match award for this effort. When he was out in the 14th over, the scoreboard read 108 for 3, and the Scorchers seemed set for a weighty total. However, they failed to produce the typical late-overs surge, and a manic collapse in the final over of the innings - they lost five wickets in the over, three to run outs - meant they were left with a middling total to defend.

Their bowlers were up to the task, knocking over Cameron White, George Bailey and David Hussey cheaply, and not allowing Rob Quiney to score freely. With their top order not delivering, the Stars were left chasing around ten runs an over in the final few, and could not get home despite a fighting, unbeaten 53 off 43 balls from Matthew Wade.

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Klinger and Cooper Take Strikers to Easy Victory

Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers, BBL 2011-12, Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff

January 3, 2012

Adelaide Strikers 166 for 4 (Klinger 53, Cooper 43*) beat Brisbane Heat 135 (Paulsen 35*, Richardson 2-2, Muirhead 2-17) by 31 runs

A positive start by Michael Klinger and a late surge by Tom Cooper helped Adelaide Strikers beat Brisbane Heat by 31 runs at the Gabba. The win took the Strikers to second place while Heat are languishing at the bottom. Captain Klinger led the way with an unbeaten 53, building useful stands with opener Daniel Harris followed by Callum Ferguson. He batted steadily, striking seven fours in his 53. He fell in the 13th over with the score on 91, and Cameron Borgas followed in the 16th over with the score on 124. Cooper, though, gave the innings more impetus at the death, in the company of Johan Botha. The pair added an unbeaten 42 in 25 balls to take the Strikers to 166.

Matthew Hayden got the chase going with a couple of early boundaries but the Heat chase never really threatened, as the Strikers picked up wickets at regular intervals. Seamer Kane Richardson dismissed the openers, going for just two runs in his two overs, while Brendan Drew and James Muirhead also took two wickets each. The highest score in the innings was 35, and that came from No.8 Steve Paulsen. It took 18 overs for Strikers to bowl out their opponents.

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Hodge and McDonald Powers Renegades to Victory

Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Sixers, BBL 2011-12, Melbourne

ESPNcricinfo staff

January 2, 2012

Melboune Renegades 164 for 2 (Hodge 72*, McDonald 60*) beat Sydney Sixers 161 for 6 (Henriques 41, Harwood 2-28) by eight wickets

Brad Hodge and Andrew McDonald buried Sydney Sixers in an avalanche of big hits to set up Melbourne Renegades' second successive win, moving them into the top half of the Big Bash League table for the first time.

Chasing a challenging 162 to win, the Renegades were given a power-packed start by Aaron Finch who clubbed Brett Lee for a six over square leg in the first over, en route to 25 off 15 balls. Glenn Maxwell failed at No. 3, bringing McDonald to the crease in the fifth over, and thereafter the innings steadied itself before taking off in style.

No boundaries were scored in the six overs following Maxwell's exit, as the asking-rate mounted to leave the Renegades needing 97 off the last 10 overs. McDonald had nudged his way to 10 off 18 balls by then, while Hodge was on 25 off 24. The scene rapidly changed colours thereafter, with McDonald signalling the end of the cease-fire by launching Stuart MacGill over long-on for two sixes in the 11th over.

A six each came in the next two overs, before Hodge plundered Lee for three fours in the 14th over, reducing the equation to 51 off six overs. Hodge proceeded to thump Dominic Thornely for two more sixes in the next over, before McDonald turned his guns on Steve Smith, slugging him for three sixes. The ferocity of the assault meant that Renegades were home with 14 balls to spare. In all, McDonald hit seven sixesin 60 off 37 balls, while Hodge cleared the ropes three times in his 72.

The Sixers would have expected a closer contest after hustling their way to 161 in the first half of the game. Dwayne Bravo's early exit was overcome by a chirpy 46-run stand between Michael Lumb and Nic Maddinson. As is his wont, Shahid Afridi produced the breach, getting Maddinson stumped for 29. Smith kept the momentum going, but Shane Harwood removed him just as he began to look dangerous. The closing flourish came from Moises Henriques, who hit three fours and a six in 40 off 31 balls, but his fireworks fizzled in front of the fusillade that was to follow.

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Bowlers and Owais Shah Star in Hobart Hurricanes Fourth Victory in Big Bash League

Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder, BBL 2011-12, Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff

January 1, 2012

Hobart Hurricanes 139 for 5 beat (Shah 41*, Birt 35) Sydney Thunder 138 for 8 (Gayle 53, Naved 3-22) by five wickets

Hobart Hurricanes won their fourth game in a row, thanks to a collective effort from their bowlers and an unbeaten 45 from Owais Shah in the chase against Sydney Thunder.

The Hurricanes bowlers, after Thunder chose to bat, bowled economical spells, three of them going for under six an over. An explosive start from Chris Gayle, who made 53 in 32 balls, smashing five sixes, and his 53-run stand with Sean Abbott threatened to take the game away from the Hurricanes. Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner, came in for stick, conceding 45 in his four overs. But from 114 for 2, Thunder slipped to 138 for 8. Naved-ul-Hasan picked up three wickets and was ably supported by Matt Johnston and Ben Laughlin.

The Hurricanes, in their chase, lost Phil Jacques in the first over but Jonathan Wells and Travis Birt put together a half-century stand for the second wicket. Wells was the third wicket to fall after a patient 29, but Shah and Tom Triffitt added 38 for the fourth wicket. Despite the loss of a couple of quick wickets, Shah kept the charge on from one end, making an unbeaten 41 in 32 balls and steering Hurricanes to victory by five wickets.

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