Sydney Sixers 1 for 173 (Philippe 86*, Vince 74*) beat Hobart Hurricanes 4 for 172 (Wade 64, Dwarshuis 1-25) by nine wickets
A record-breaking partnership between Josh Philippe and James Vince led the Sydney Sixers to a thumping win over BBL leaders Hobart Hurricanes at the SCG.
Philippe, the 21-year-old tyro, and Vince, the wily English pro, broke all manner of records as they mowed down a target of 173 with nine wickets and 17 balls to spare.
The pair came together at 1 for 6 in the first over and put on an unbroken 167 in just 16.3 overs. It was a new record partnership for Sixers franchise, the fourth highest in BBL history and the highest second-wicket stand in the eight years of the competition. Philippe, whose previous best in T20s was 30 not out, batted through the chase, making 86 not out from just 49 balls with nine fours and three sixes. Meanwhile, Vince made 74 not out, his second straight score of 70-plus.
Earlier, the Hurricanes' total of 4 for 172 looked competitive on a turning SCG track but ended up being well under par. Matthew Wade made yet another half-century and put on another half-century stand with D'Arcy Short. But they battled to get the Sixers spinners Ben Manenti and Steve O'Keefe away in the middle overs, and without a late cameo from George Bailey may well have fallen short of 170.
1 for 225
Wade and Short just continued from their unbroken 158-run stand to beat the Adelaide Strikers none down. There was sharp spin in the opening over from Manenti, which meant caution was required early. But they found their groove yet again. They were simply flawless while keeping the rate above eight by targeting the pace of Tom Curran and Sean Abbott with five boundaries in the last three overs to get to 0 for 49 after six overs. It was the fifth time in 10 games they did not lose a wicket in the Powerplay. They kicked on to their ninth 50-plus partnership in the BBL, and the total partnership across the last two games reached 225 before Short holed out at deep midwicket.
Better Bailey than never
Wade reached fifty and was involved in some verbal niggle with Tom Curran and Moises Henriques. But while a 67-run stand between Wade and Ben McDermott appeared to be putting the Hurricanes in a powerful position, the run-rate slipped under eight as the spin of Manenti and O'Keefe proved hard to collar.
Wade's dismissal brought in Bailey, who has been arguably the most valuable player in the tournament for the role that he plays. Under pressure in the death overs he has delivered time and again. He gave himself four balls to get the pace of the wicket in the 18th and 19th overs but none were dots. In the 20thover he hit two fours and an incredible six over long-off, scooping it with the bottom hand. He scored 22 from nine balls to turn a total of 160 into 4 for 172. He now has 264 runs in the tournament at a strike-rate of 161.96. No other player in the tournament with more than 250 runs has a strike-rate higher than 145.
Philippe fireworks
Philippe dominated the Powerplays in the JLT Cup 50-over competition for Western Australia in October at the top of the order. He then plundered 57 off 53 balls for the Prime Minister's XI facing two of the world's best fast bowlers in Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada in the Powerplay. But it took the Sydney Sixers nine games and four different openers to work out Philippe might be worth a try at the top.
After scoring 17 off 11 to give the Sixers a fast start in the win over Brisbane Heat, he stepped up a gear on Wednesday. He lost his opening partner Daniel Hughes in the first over of the chase, but proceeded to smash 46 off 22 in the Powerplay to help the Sixers to 67 for 1, the equal-highest Powerplay score of the tournament. The best attack in the BBL was rendered helpless by Philippe's fast hands and fast feet. He scored all around the ground, thumping three boundaries off the spin of Clive Rose and three off the pace of Jofra Archer in consecutive overs.
Vintage Vince
Philippe cruised to his first T20 half-century off just 25 balls and allowed Vince to settle in. The pair scored at an electric rate without appearing to take too many risks. Not only did they thump 15 fours and five sixes between them, they also ran 12 twos. Vince cruised to his second successive fifty while Philippe crowned his career-best 86 not out with two extraordinary shots to finish the game - an inside out cover drive for six followed by a deft scoop over the keeper's head.
