Hurricanes backing young gun Riley Meredith to fire and shoot down Stars in BBL semifinal

Young gun Riley Meredith may be spraying them far and wide, but the tall Hurricanes quick still has the backing of captain Matthew Wade ahead of tonight’s BBL semifinal against the Stars.

ADELAIDE, VICTORIA — JANUARY 21: (L-R) Matthew Wade of the Hobart Hurricanes celebrates with Riley Meredith of the Hobart Hurricanes during the Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes at Adelaide Oval on January 21, 2019 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Young gun Riley Meredith may be spraying them far and wide, but the tall quick still has the backing of captain Matthew Wade.

Meredith started the season on fire, turning heads nationwide with his sheer pace, but after missing two games with gastro, has struggled on his return with no balls and wides.

Riley Meredith has been erratic since returning from sickness.

The 22-year-old went for 1-43 from three overs on his return against the Renegades, including his first over for 23, and then for 1-52 from four against the Thunder in Canberra.

All up, he has bowled nine wides and six no balls in his last two games.

He remained in Canberra to play the first day of the Futures League in a quest to find some rhythm and form ahead of Thursday night’s semi-final against the Stars.

Wade said the Hurricanes had full faith in Meredith.

“It would be nice if he wasn’t overstepping and bowling wides, that’s the last thing we really want,” Wade said.

“But I think he’s got the x-factor that can tear a game open.”

Despite missing two games, Meredith is 10th in the BBL for wickets, and Wade was backing his wicket-taking ability against the strong Stars batting line-up.

“In the powerplay teams are coming really hard at us and I still feel Riley can get us two or three wickets,” he said.

“He did go for a few the other night but he still picked up (Shane) Watson and in big games you need players who can do that and we are confident Riley can do that.

“He’s got the ability to do that, hopefully he doesn’t do that on Saturday night.

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Originally published as Hurricanes backing young gun Riley Meredith to fire and shoot down Stars in BBL semifinal