Adelaide Strikers 251 for 5 (M Short 109, Lynn 47, Ross 44*, Kuhnemann 3-50) beat Brisbane Heat 195 (McSweeney 43, D Short 4-15, Haskett 2-43, Pope 2-44) by 56 runs
Sent in to bat on a very flat Adelaide Oval surface, Strikers smashed 251 for 5 highlighted by Short’s 109 off 54 balls after he missed the last three matches. He reached his ton in 49 balls to set a new franchise record.
Heat never seriously threatened in the chase and were bowled out for 195 after 20 overs.
The result has breathed life into Strikers’ season (three wins in eight games) having entered the match in last position and they moved within striking distance of fourth-placed Heat.
Short/Lynn rampage before Carey’s brief knock in season debut
During Short’s absence, Lynn moved up to open from three and such was his success that he stayed in the position. He dominated the powerplay and thrashed quicks Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett, normally so reliable with the new ball.
Lynn raced to 42 off 13 balls as Strikers motored to 62 for 0 in the most runs hit by a team in the powerplay this season. Short then took over with two sixes off left-arm quick Spencer Johnson as Strikers moved to 81-0 after five overs.
Hogging the strike, Short soon sped past Lynn to reach his half-century off 24 balls. In the first seven overs, Short and Lynn smashed seven sixes while they failed to score off just 11 balls.
But Lynn did lose his rhythm and was also ailed by a tight hamstring before being knocked over by a quicker delivery from left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann.
Carey finally came to the crease, but only lasted eight deliveries after being bowled by another faster ball from Kuhnemann. He did, however, hit arguably the best shot of the innings after a classy check drive sailed prettily over extra cover and into the crowd.
Short was unperturbed as he fittingly reached his ton with a boundary. Travis Head had held Strikers’ previous fastest century with his famous 53-ball ton against Sydney Sixers on New Year’s Eve in 2015.
It was a brilliant knock from Short, who has recently opened for Australia in white-ball cricket, marked by staying still at the crease and clean ball striking. He ruthlessly targeted the shorter boundaries on the legside before finally holing out to deep midwicket.
Alex Ross clubbed 44 not out from 19 balls at the death to ensure Strikers’ momentum continued.
Spinners Kuhnemann, Swepson try their best
With their star quicks Neser, Bartlett and Johnson having rare off performances, unable to hit their lengths, spinners Kuhnemann and Swepson took five wickets between them in battling efforts.
They weren’t spared, with 91 runs hit off their eight overs, but at least ensured Strikers didn’t reel in the BBL record score of 273 for 2 set by Melbourne Stars three years ago.
Kuhnemann, in his first match since being selected to the Test tour of Sri Lanka, got some zip off the surface, while Swepson cleverly mixed up his bowling to be the most economical of the five bowlers used.
Debutant quicks face tough initiation, D’Arcy Short takes four wickets
On a surface that rivalled some of the unforgiven pitches seen in the IPL, Strikers debutant quicks Liam Haskett and Jordan Buckingham faced a difficult initiation.
Haskett impressed last season for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, but had a delayed start to this summer due to a back injury. The tall left-arm quick was unleashed in the second over, but struggled with his lengths initially and whacked over the legside for successive sixes by Neser.
Haskett was later pulled for six by Nathan McSweeney and caught, remarkably, by his father in the terraces. He returned later to dismiss Tom Alsop to finish with 2 for 43 from 3 overs.
The 24-year-old Buckingham was given a chance in the BBL having impressed in the Shield in recent seasons. Like almost every other bowler in the match, he copped some punishment but claimed the key wicket of Matthew Renshaw in the 14th over.
Munro bats well down the order after injuries in the field
Heat’s monumental task was made harder with skipper Colin Munro batting well down the order after dislocating a finger in his left hand and suffering a shoulder injury in a torrid time in the field. He came out at No.7 and made a second ball duck.
Neser was promoted to open and ordered to go for broke, but it didn’t do the trick. McSweeney played fluently with several gorgeous drives and he made an attractive 43 off 24 balls.
But he was run out attempting a second run as Heat’s slim chances effectively ended despite entertaining cameos from Renshaw, in-form Max Bryant and Johnson, who hit 27 from 13 balls at No.11.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
