Almost a year after lifting the WBBL trophy at Ninja Stadium, the Hobart Hurricanes are winless, bottom of the table and running out of road. Five matches into their title defence in WBBL|12, the defending champions have yet to register a point, and coach Jude Coleman admits another defeat could end their finals hopes.
The Hurricanes have lost all five matches, including two agonising final-ball defeats — to the Melbourne Renegades and to the Adelaide Strikers, when Sophie Ecclestone hit the winning boundary off the last ball. Coleman pointed out that the side could easily be 2-3 instead of 0-5, but the margins have gone against them. “We just haven’t been able to put the runs on the board since game one,” she said.
The batting has been the problem. Hobart scored at 8.72 runs per over in the Powerplay last season; this season that figure has fallen to 5.65, with seven wickets lost in the opening four overs. Lizelle Lee, who hit 305 runs last season, has managed 89 at 17.8 after five innings, while Sri Lanka opener Chamari Athapaththu, drafted in as a late replacement, has 39 runs at 7.8 — including 10 off 26 balls against the Strikers before Coleman made the call to retire her out.
The contrast with last season is stark. The Hurricanes made chasing their specialty in WBBL|11, winning six of eight matches when they fielded first, including the highest chase in WBBL history, 187 against the Scorchers, and another chase of 182. This season they have fallen well short chasing 192 against the Stars and were bowled out for 109 chasing 196 against the Sixers.
The absences explain much of it. Natalie Sciver-Brunt opted out of the WBBL this season, former captain Elyse Villani has retired, star opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge suffered a season-ending injury before the tournament, and spinner Linsey Smith is also out injured. The one bright spot has been new captain Nicola Carey, who has scored 161 runs in four innings at 53.66, while Heather Graham has taken eight wickets at 17.
Coleman has not given up on the finals, noting that history shows five wins is usually enough to make the top four. “Our number one priority is to win tomorrow to keep our finals race alive, but if that doesn’t eventuate, we’ll be looking to the future,” she said. Tomorrow is a must-win game against the Brisbane Heat at Ninja Stadium on Saturday at 10:10 AM IST — lose it, and the champions’ defence is effectively over.
Related:
- Sophie Ecclestone Hits Winning Boundary Off Last Ball as Adelaide Strikers Break Hobart Hurricanes’ Hearts in WBBL Thriller — https://t20star.com/sophie-ecclestone-hits-winning-boundary-off-last-ball-as-adelaide-strikers-break-hobart-hurricanes-hearts-in-wbbl-thriller/
- Redmayne’s Unbeaten 74 Powers Brisbane Heat to Third Straight WBBL Win as Stars Slump Again — https://t20star.com/redmaynes-unbeaten-74-powers-brisbane-heat-to-third-straight-wbbl-win-as-stars-slump-again/
