The cheeky Ashes jibe at Jonny Bairstow and a fantastic performance from returning Test star Alex Carey helped the Adelaide Strikers defeat the Hobart Hurricanes by five wickets.
The Strikers needed the two points to stay in touch with the top four, thus it was a crucial victory. With two games remaining, Adelaide is now in fifth place, one point behind the Stars.
Ben McDermott was outstanding for the Hurricanes, using his bat to score an undefeated 95 runs, but the Strikers’ batting lineup proved too strong as they managed to reach the 166 goal with five balls remaining.
Although Matt Short (45) and Chris Lynn (37), who both displayed impressive power hitting, both batters lost wickets quickly after, leaving the door open for the Hurricanes.
Carey built on his three dismissals (stumping, two catches) in the first innings to score a well-crafted 36 (26) with the bat.
Carey got into an odd incident during the Hurricanes’ inning.
Despite facing just one delivery, Hobart’s Nikhil Chaudhary was removed for a diamond duck (0 runs off 0 balls), which may seem improbable.
Spinner Cam Boyce produced a leg-side down ball that was caught by Carey, who removed the bails with such force that Chaudhary’s foot was on the crease rather than behind, resulting in a stumping.
Chaudhary technically didn’t face a legal ball because it was called a wide.
Carey gave Bairstow a small Ashes-style barb when he was asked about the quality of the stumping.
“Always pleased to receive a stumping, no matter how it occurs. Up to the stumps or back,” he said on Seven.
The Hurricanes were down 5/36, but they are back in the game owing to Chris Jordan’s powerful hitting and Ben McDermott’s cool head.
Hobart’s Nathan Ellis took the most wickets (2), but he was costly as well, giving up 44 runs in his four overs.
Earlier, McDermott’s unbroken 95 off 61 balls guided the Hurricanes to a decent score of 7/165.
Hobart was batting badly throughout their innings, going 5/36 and then 6/66, but McDermott held his composure to survive while his colleagues were getting out for cheap all around him. throughout the end, he was able to hammer a couple boundaries, including a massive six off the final ball.
“That Ben McDermott did is excellent. They were in all sorts at 6/66,” Glenn Maxwell said on Fox Cricket.
Chris Jordan was dismissed following a dubious DRS review, having hit 30 off 15 balls.
Cam Boyce (2/13) and Jamie Overton (3/23) were the Strikers’ two best bowlers.