BBL 5 Match 7 Review: Hobart Hurricanes v Brisbane Heat, Paine gets Hurricanes off the mark with an aggressive knock

Tim Paine led from the front as the Hobart Hurricanes got their first win of the BBL 5. Playing in front of a vociferous home crowd the Bellerive Oval, the home side won the toss and decided to bat first; a decision that turned out to be a right one in the end. The Brisbane Heat, suffering their second consecutive defeat, had their moments in the match however the fall of regular wickets in their run chase hampered their cause.

Paine, the skipper of the Hobart outfit, won the toss and elected to bat on a flat pitch. He blasted six fours and four sixes in his knock of 87 off 58 balls, including two monster hits out of the stadium inside the power play, to set the ball rolling for his team who were humbled for 91 against Sydney Sixers.  He and star batsman Kumar Sangakkara shared a 77-run partnership after Ben Dunk was run out from a direct hit by Peter Forrest.

Sangakkara was top gear in his stylish knock of 43, gracefully finding the gaps in well paced knock. George Bailey, the only batsman to make a score for his team at the SCG in the previous game, continued his cracking form, hammered a rapid 21-ball 40 before falling in the penultimate over. Paine finished the onslaught, cracking two sixes in the final two overs to give the home side a competitive total of 184/3 from 20 overs under lights. Ben Cutting was the pick of the Heat bowlers, capturing the wicket of Sangakkara and finishing with figures of 1-32 from four overs.

The Brisbane reply started on a positive note with Lendl Simmons and Jimmy Peirson adding 36 in 4.1 overs before the latter was dismissed for a fluent 29 off 19 balls including a six and four fours. Jason Floros walked in and took the attack to the opposition in fine style. Even as 3 other wickets fell, that of Simmons, Peter Forrest and skipper Chris Lynn, he kept striking the ball cleanly and kept his team in the game. He made 42 off 23 balls including 3 fours and 3 sixes before being dismissed by Cameron Boyce on the last ball of the 14th over which turned out to be the turning point of the innings.

At 112/5 in 13 overs, the visitors needed a big effort in the remaining 7 overs however the target proved way beyond their reach as wickets kept tumbling. Nathan Reardon Tried his best with a 41 off 32 balls including 4 fours and a maximum however failed to take his team over the line with asking increasing rate increasing every over. Sam Rainbird picked up 3/37 while Dan Christian bowled a brilliant spell of 2/22 as the Hurricanes restricted the Brisbane outfit to 164/8 thereby securing a 20-run win.

Brief Scores:

Hobart Hurricanes: 184/3 in 20 overs (T Paine 87*; B Cutting 1/32)

Brisbane Heat: 164/8 in 20 overs (S Floros 42; S Rainbird 3/37)

Man of the Match: Tim Paine (Hobart Hurricanes)