Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers: Preview & Predictions (BBL14)

We preview the week three match of BBL14 on Wednesday as the Hobart Hurricanes host the Sydney Sixers. Who will come out on top? Go through our expert predictions.

Two teams in blistering form are set to clash on New Year’s Day, as the Hobart Hurricanes aim to solidify their resurgence with a statement win over the Sydney Sixers.

The table-topping Sixers have maintained a perfect record with four wins from four this season, but can the Hurricanes, inspired by back-to-back victories, hand them their first defeat?

The best betting sites in Australia consider the Sixers favourites to continue their winning run, but Greg Shipperd’s men will not underestimate their next opponents. The Hurricanes have responded remarkably after a humiliating defeat in their opening match.

While they have lost their last three meetings with the East Coast side, Hobart have reason to be quietly confident heading into this clash.

Who will emerge victorious? Read on for our full preview of the Hurricanes vs Sixers.

Hobart Hurricanes

The Hobart Hurricanes endured a nightmare start to their BBL 14 campaign, collapsing to their lowest-ever total. They also lost wicketkeeper Matthew Wade to a calf injury in the humbling six-wicket defeat to the Melbourne Renegades in Geelong. Skipper Nathan Ellis put in an all-round effort, but it was not enough to stop a brutal beating.

Shaking off the sting of their defeat to the Melbourne Renegades just two days before, the Hobart Hurricanes stormed to an eight-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers at Ninja Stadium. Mitch Owen’s breakout BBL century led his side to victory with four balls and eight wickets in hand.

Ben McDermott starred for the Purple Brigade in the next match as he contributed a quickfire 68 off 34 deliveries. McDermott stayed till the end to catapult his team to 214 runs. The Strikers came close, in response, but fell short at 203/6 after 20 overs.

Sydney Sixers

The Sixers appear determined to move past last season's near-miss and claim glory this time around. They opened with back-to-back five wicket wins against Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder. Then, they extended the winning run to four matches with victories against Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat.

The first two wins came via tense chases for the Sixers. In the first one, Moises Henriques delivered a captain’s knock of 53 runs in almost half the deliveries to outscore the Renegades’ 169/7. In the second one, late onslaught from Jordan Silk and Ben Dwarshuis helped them topple Thunder’s 164/5.

A daunting challenge was made easy in Sixers’ third match as an explosive James Vince innings steered them to win against the Stars, who had posted 194 runs batting first, with eight wickets and 13 balls to spare. The 23/24 runner-ups kept up the momentum with another eight wicket win against Brisbane Heat in their latest outing

We have already mentioned that the Sixers are currently on a three-match winning streak against the Hurricanes. Looking at the overall head-to-head record, however, it’s finely balanced with nine wins apiece.

The Sixers did win in their last visit to the Ninja Stadium, when they dealt a large blow to Hobart’s BBL12 playoff hopes with a 24-run win. However, they had lost in their previous three visits to the stadium.

Shai Hope is yet to register a half-century for the Hurricanes this season, but he has shown glimpses of a big innings in each of his three appearances. In the last two matches, the West Indies international scored 37 and 38, suggesting he could take it up a notch against the Sixers.

Continuing his stellar BBL 14 campaign, Ben Dwarshuis (4-32) shone against Adelaide to become the competition’s top wicket-taker with 10 dismissals. Henriques will be eager for Dwarshuis to deliver another match-winning spell against a powerful batting side.

New betting sites and seasoned bookies are labelling the Sixers as favourites in this tie. They boast a formidable bowling attack complemented by an equally strong batting lineup. While the Hurricanes are more batting heavy, they have the quality to break the Sixers’ winning streak. Therefore, we’re tipping the Hurricanes to pull off an upset in this clash.

Summary

The Sixers have made the perfect start in their bid to atone for last season’s BBL13 final loss. However, their impressive run will face a major test at Ninja Stadium, where the Hobart Hurricanes will look to extend their winning streak to three matches. We expect they’ll do exactly that on New Year’s Day.