BBL 7, Match 24, Preview: Lynn-less Brisbane Heat face the in-form Hurricanes

The Hobart Hurricanes are well and truly back in contention for the knockouts after securing full points out of their last 3 games. They were right down at the bottom of the points table after their initial two games, but they have climbed up quickly and are now at no. 5. They will have a strong challenge at hand tomorrow in the form of Brisbane Heat which are one position ahead of them in the standings with 4 victories in 6 games.

There is some bad news for the Heat ahead of this counter as one of their biggest players Chris Lynn has been ruled out of the tournament sustaining another injury. Lynn had been contributing immensely since been promoted at the top of the order and he will definitely be missed by the Heat, but he was not the only player whom the Heat were dependent on. Brendon McCullum’s side has enough quality even without Lynn and they will be a tough nut to crack for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes have momentum on their side which is so important in T20 cricket. They have had some close games of late and they have played superbly during the crunch stages of those games to make sure they end on the right side of the stick. The batsmen have been setting the game up for them by scoring big in the first innings and the bowlers have been keeping their nerves in the defence of the scores.

Jofra Archer has well and truly been the find for them as the young man through his performances has caught the eyes of the entire cricketing world. He is a quick hit-the-deck bowler who cranks up speeds of over 140 Kph on a consistent basis and there is hardly any batsman in the tournament who has been able to play him confidently on the front foot. The Hurricanes will expect another fiery spell from the 22-year old who is now seen as a prospect for the South African national team as well.

Hobart Hurricanes (Predicted XI): Alex Doolan, D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott, George Bailey, Dan Christian, Matthew Wade, Jofra Archer, Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Tymal Mills, Aaron Summers.

Brisbane Heat (Predicted XI): Jimmy Peirson (WK), Brendan McCullum (C), Sam Heazlett, Joe Burns, Alex Ross, Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett, Mitchell Swepson, Mark Steketee, Yasir Shah, Cameron Gannon