CRICKET POLL

Hobart Hurricanes vs Perth Scorchers

Mitchell Owen hit nine fours and five sixes on his way to an exceptional, unbeaten 101 off 64 balls as Hobart Hurricanes secured their first win of the BBL season - over Perth Scorchers. Just two days after an abysmal batting performance, Hurricanes excelled in a chase, courtesy the opening batter who scored the century and added a 101-run stand with Shai Hope.

The Owen onslaught began as early as the first over when he carted Jhye Richardson for a six and then followed it up with 6, 4, 4 off Lance Morris in the third over. Caleb Jewell fell at the other end but the Hurricanes got to the PowerPlay at 44/1 with Owen doing the bulk of the scoring. Hope took the best seat in the house to witness Owen's batting as the opener went about hitting sixes for fun. His fifty came off one such hit, in 31 balls, in the ninth over.

Scorchers struggled to break through and even erred with their decision regarding DRS as they didn't review an LBW call against Owen, which would've gone in their favour. That proved costly as he carred his bat to see the chase off. Even as Scorchers dismissed Hope, the equation was a very gettable 23 off 18. That became 7 off 6 heading into the final over where Owen completed his maiden BBL century and then put the finishing touches to the win.

Before his exploits could carry the team through, it was Riley Meredith's bowling that ensured that the Hurricanes wouldn't have too big a target to chase. Meredith finished with figures of 3 for 27 in four overs, and was also involved in running out Josh Inglis, who top-scored for the Scorchers with 49. Captain Ashton Turner pushed his team ahead but fell in the final over for 39. Scorchers found themselves past the 150-mark but it wasn't enough in the end.

Brief Scores:Perth Scorchers 155/6 in 20 overs (Josh Ingis 49, Aston Turner 39; Riley Meredith 3-27) lost to Hobart Hurricanes 156/2 in 19.2 overs (Mitchell Owen 101*, Shai Hope 38) by 8 wickets

@B4$

A six off the penultimate ball from Ben Dwarshuis helped Sydney Sixers defeat Sydney Thunder in a thrilling contest at the Sydney Showground Stadium. The derby went right down to the wire when Dwarshuis walked out to the middle with Sixers still needing 23 off 12. The left-hander smashed a 101m six first ball but the pendulum swung again with Thunder pulling things back. Chris Green's final over appeared to have tilted the game towards his side but with his side needing 7 off 2, Dwarshuis made complete use of a full toss to clear the boundary again before finding the single off the last ball to pick up a stunning win.

At the other end, Jordan Silk remained unbeaten on 36 and that proved to be a valuable contribution as well, especially considering skipper Moises Henriques stuttered on the night despite kickstarting his tournament with a fantastic match-winning fifty. Josh Philippe and James Vince gave Sixers the ideal start but needless run out caught the Englishman short. Daniel Sams, Thunder's hero in the previous game, struck with a slower delivery to send Philippe back but Jack Edwards ensured Sixers remained on target.

However, a direct-hit from David Warner caught Edwards short of his crease and that dismissal gave an opening for Sixers to storm back into the contest. With Henriques struggling, Thunder managed to send some quiet overs that pushed the required rate up. Needing 57 from the final five overs, Sixers opted for the surge but that only resulted in the wicket of the skipper before Silk opened up to drag his side back in prior to that frantic finish.

Earlier in the evening, Sam Konstas couldn't celebrate his national call-up with runs as he was clean bowled for a duck in the first over of the game. Warner loosened up with a couple of boundaries and a six but hit one straight to deep backward square, forcing Thunder to rebuild. After a dip in the scoring rate, Oliver Davies teed off by smashing a hat-trick of sixes against Todd Murphy and Bancroft followed it up with three boundaries in the very next over to turn the tide.

The duo found their groove to fetch boundaries at regular intervals before Akeal Hosein returned to bag the big wicket of Davies. Dwarshuis then delivered an excellent over to deprive the batting unit of any momentum as he fetched the key wickets of Sherfane Rutherford and Sams in the space of three deliveries. Bancroft and Sam Billings then managed to find the boundary on a few occasions at the death to drag Thunder past 160 but it just wasn't enough.

Brief scores: Sydney Thunder 163/5 in 20 overs (Cameron Bancroft 70*, Oliver Davies 47; Akeal Hosein 2/23) lost to Sydney Sixers 164/5 in 20 overs (Jordan Silk 36*; Lockie Ferguson 2/32) by 5 wickets