Hobart Hurricanes will face the defending champions Perth Scorchers in a crucial Big Bash League (BBL) 2015-2016 encounter at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart on Sunday.
This is a must win game for the Hurricanes. If they would want to keep their semi-finals' hope alive, then they have to beat the upbeat Scorchers on Sunday.
On the other hand, Scorchers will look to secure a place in the final four of the BBL 2015-2016. They have already won four games that earned them eight points and a win against the Hurricanes will confirm their berth in the semi-finals. Scorchers will join Adelaide Strikers in the semi-final if they manage to register a win on Sunday.
There have been some forced changes to both sides. Adam Voges came back to join the Scorchers in the place of outgoing Shaun Marsh. Voges, who was adjudged the man of the series in the Tests against West Indies recently, is looking forward to contribute with his bat for Scorchers. Marsh has been absolutely brilliant at the top of the order alongside Michael Klinger and thus Scorchers will miss him for sure. Joel Paris will also not take the field on Sunday as the left-arm seamer and Marsh, both have been called up for the Australia ODI squad against India.
"Weve got an opportunity now to hopefully secure a spot in the semifinals, so theres a lot riding on this for us. Michael Klingers done a wonderful job while Ive been a way and Im looking forward to taking the reins back over," Voges told mediapersons on Saturday.
"We lose a couple of guys in Shaun Marsh and Joel Paris and theyre going to be big losses for us, but I think weve got enough depth in our squad to cover them."
Hurricanes have been forced to make just one change. They will be without the services of George Bailey. He also has been called for the ODI series against India. Bailey has been one of their best batsmen and it might just affect their batting line-up further. The onus will be on other stars like Kumar Sangakkara, Daniel Christian, Darren Sammy and Tim Paine.
Hurricanes coach Damien Wright believes that they still have a lot of cricket left in them and they can make it to the final four.
"There is still plenty of life left in our team and plenty of belief. We need to bounce back on Sunday," Wright told reporters.
Squads:
Hobart Hurricanes: Tim Paine (C), Ben Dunk, Michael Hill, Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Simon Milenko, Sam Rainbird, Jake Reed, Clive Rose, Darren Sammy, Kumar Sangakkara, Shaun Tait, Jon Wells.
Perth Scorchers: Adam Voges (c) Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Michael Carberry, Matt Dixon, Marcus Harris, Brad Hogg, Michael Klinger, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Willey.
Where to watch live:
Big Bash League (BBL) 2015 clash between Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers is scheduled for a 4:20 pm local time (10:50 am IST, 6:20 am BST and 5:20 am GMT) start. T20 fans in India can tune into Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1.
The live streaming options will be available on Starsports.com and Hotstar.com.
The audience in UK can switch to Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD 1 to watch BBL 2015-2016 clash- Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers.
The live streaming option will be available on Watch Sky Sports.
In Australia, T20fans can tune into Fox Sports and Ten Network to catch live action of the Big Bash League encounter between Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers.
Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers can be streamed live on Tenplay, Bigbash.com.au and cricket.com.au.
