Hobart Hurricanes 1 for 146 (Short 68*, Jewell 61*) beat Brisbane Heat 6 for 145 (Ross 62, Peirson 50, Faulkner 2-27, Moody 2-27, Archer 2-28) by nine wickets
Early breakthroughs made the difference for Hobart Hurricanes as they kept Brisbane Heat to 145 for 6 before D'Arcy Short and Caleb Jewell combined to knock the runs off in just 14.2 overs for a nine-wicket win. The result helped the Hurricanes consolidate their top spot on the Big Bash League points table, while the Heat remained stuck at seventh place.
James Faulkner, David Moody and Jofra Archer - twice - struck within the Powerplay overs as the Heat slipped to 27 for 4 after being asked to bat. They recovered, with Alex Ross and Jimmy Peirson hitting half-centuries in a 109-run fifth-wicket stand. But just nine runs from the final two overs meant a below-par total from the Heat.
The target was made to look even smaller than it was as Short and Jewell, who got together after Matthew Wade fell for a seven-ball 12, hit quick half-centuries in an unbroken 132-run stand. Short finished with 68 off 41 balls and Jewell 61 off 38.
Archer makes an impact
Max Bryant must have enjoyed the sound of ball on bat as he hit Faulkner down the ground, seemingly over long-on. But Archer was there, sticking out his right hand, grabbing the ball, lobbing it back in as he went out, and then completing the dismissal.
That was in the third over, the first wicket of the Heat innings, and soon Chris Lynn and Matt Renshaw were back alongside Bryant, both done in by Archer. Lynn could send the bowler only up to George Bailey at mid-off, and Renshaw was gone next ball, nicking Archer outside off to Wade behind the stumps.
The Ross-Peirson fightback
If the scoreboard shows 27 for 4, and the four includes Lynn and Brendon McCullum, it means trouble. The Heat, who have struggled for the best part of the season, were in a spot of bother, but in Ross and Peirson had good men for the rebuilding job.
The two batted together from the third ball of the sixth over - with little by way of a platform to build on - to the end of the 18th, adding 109 runs together. They opened up after the 12th over and took the Heat all the way to 136 before being separated, giving their bowlers a little something to play with.
Another big one from Short
Short was right on top of the run-scorers' chart for the season before the start of the game, and by the end of it, hehad taken a 142-run lead over fellow Hurricanes opener Wade, his latest outing taking his tally to 541 from 11 innings, at an average of 67.62 and a strike-rate of 141.25.
Short has been nigh unstoppable this season, and is one of the primary reasons for the Hurricanes' success. The Heat target wasn't a big one anyway, and Short took off once Jewell had set the ball rolling at the other end, ending with his sixth half-century of the competition.
"I am having fun with the batting," he said afterwards. He certainly looks it.
