Northern Territory Strike defeated Hobart Hurricanes Academy by two wickets in the 11th match of the Top End T20 series today (August 17), despite collapsing to 56-8 in the run-chase.
Fielding first after winning the toss, Northern Territory Strike bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals, restricting the BBL academy side to 55-4, 91-7, and 125 all out. Only captain Macalister Wright went past 30 (37) while teenage quick Tom Menzies took 4-18 in four overs for the Northern Territory. Even D'Arcy Short, the Australia international, rolled his arm over and picked up three wickets for 20 runs.
Jake Weatherald falls first ball
What would have looked like a relatively straightforward chase began to unravel very quickly for NTS. Weatherald, who was recently backed by Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey to be in the mix for the upcoming Ashes, was bowled for a golden duck in the first over by Iain Carlisle before Billy Stanlake cleaned up Short in the second.
From 5-2, NTS collapsed to 56-8 in 11.5 overs, Carlisle (3-31) and Louis Smith (2-16) being the chief destroyers. Needing another 70 runs in 8.1 overs with the ninth pair at the crease, the game looked dead and buried for Northern Territory. But No.7 Matt Hammond and No.10 Hamish Martin held their nerves.
After taking four runs from the 13th over, both Hammond and Martin – both of whom are yet to make their senior professional debut in any format (Top End T20 does not have T20 status) – struck a boundary in the 14th. The 15th over fetched 12 as well, but it was Stanlake's 16th over that must have instilled the most belief in the batting side: Hammond hit a four and Martin a six as they managed 15 runs off the over to bring the required equation down to 26 in four overs.
The NTS batters ended up needing only three as they reached the target with six balls and two wickets to spare, a destination that seemed unlikely after the fall of the eighth wicket.
Match 11, Northern Territory Strike vs Hobart Hurricanes Academy
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- Ball by ball Over
With this victory, Northern Territory Strike have moved up to No.2 in the points table. Melbourne Renegades Academy (1st) and Chicago Kingsmen (3rd) are the only other teams to have won both of their first two matches so far. Hobart Hurricanes Academy, meanwhile, are seventh with one win from three matches.
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