Hobart Hurricanes blown away by Sydney Sixers in BBL

A nine wicket loss on paper might not read as a great result but the Hurricanes won’t go scrambling for answers after being blown away by the Sydney Sixers on Wednesday night.

A nine wicket loss on paper might not read as a great result but the Hurricanes won’t go scrambling for answers after being blown away by the Sydney Sixers on Wednesday night.

Hobart finished its five game road stretch — which started against the Melbourne Renegades more than a fortnight ago — by copping a blitzkrieg from Sixers duo Josh Philippe and James Vince.

The pair combined for the fourth biggest partnership in Big Bash history and the highest ever for the Sixers, adding an unbeaten 167 to mow down the 173-run target with 17 balls spare.

Josh Philippe of the Sixers bats during the BBL match between the Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Philippe’s unconquered 86 from 49 balls was the highest individual score by a Sixer, while English import Vince finished on 74 from 50 balls in the one way romp.

The Hurricanes, who have been on the road since last Monday’s win against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG, remain two games clear on top of the table and captain Matthew Wade said there was no need to dig too deep after the side was left near helpless under the Sydney onslaught.

“It is not a game certainly that I walked off and thought we had bowled really poorly or didn’t execute batting wise,” Wade said.

“I thought we batted really well and bowled pretty decent as well, they were just too good in the end.

Hurricanes' Matthew Wade smashes a boundary during BBL match between the Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes at the SCG. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“He [Philippe] is a good young player, we saw him in the JLT when we played against him.

“He is that kind of player, aggressive, will get a couple of bad outs but if he stays true to the way he plays and keeps going like that then he is going to get away and take some games away from teams, like he did us.

“We are comfortable in the position we are at, three and two on the road through this trip of five games so at the start of leaving Hobart for the road trip we would have taken that.

“We will go home now and try and get better, there is always areas of the game you can improve.”

Ben McDermott of the Hurricanes drops a catch during the Big Bash League match between the Sydney Sixers and the Hobart Hurricanes. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

The loss also drew the curtains on Johan Botha’s 15 year career, with the former South African skipper announcing his immediate retirement from the game.

Botha, 36, joined the Hurricanes this season from the Sixers — having started his BBL career with Adelaide — and has played an integral role in helping the side to its flying start.

Johan Botha bowls during the Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes at Adelaide Oval on January 21. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

However, after entering the tournament racing the clock to be fit due to a bulging disc in his back, the naturalised Australian cited wear and tear on his body and physical fatigue behind his sudden decision.

The crafty spinner played five Tests, 40 T20 and 78 ODI’s for his country between 2005 and 2012, and featured in 215 domestic T20 games around the world.

EARLIER:

An astonishing batting powerplay from the Sydney Sixers has sent Hobart crashing to just its second defeat of the BBL tournament.

Chasing 173 for victory last night at the SCG, the hosts unleashed a vicious­ assault in the first six overs to set the platform for their nine-wicket win.

West Australian Josh Philippe (86 not out from 49 balls) and English import James Vince (74 not out off 50) racked up 61 runs in 32 balls after James Faulkner had removed Daniel Hughes on the fourth delivery of the innings, allowing Sydney to race to 1-67.

The equal highest powerplay of BBL08 was kickstarted when Philippe hooked Riley Meredith for a boundary and six back-to-back, and launched into overdrive when the duo peeled off 19 runs from Clive Rose in the fourth over.

Sixers' Josh Philippe reverse sweeps during BBL match between the Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes at the SCG. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Philippe then lined up Jofra Archer by taking 14 from his first six balls, racing to his maiden Big Bash half-century from 25 balls deliveries, which contained eight boundaries and a six. His 86 is the highest individual score by a Sixers batsman.

The hosts motored along at more than 10 an over throughout the chase, allowing them to cruise home with 17 balls spare.

Philippe and Vince’s 167-run partnership was Sydney’s highest ever for any wicket and the fourth highest in the history of the Big Bash. The loss cut the Hurricanes’ gap at the top of the table to two matches, and took some of the gloss off the Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short roadshow which earlier rolled on against Sydney’s trio of spinners.

D'Arcy Short bats during the BBL match between the Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Armed with tweakers Ben Manenti, Stephen O’Keefe and Lloyd Pope — an area supposed to be Short’s kryptonite — the Sixers’ three slow men may have slightly slowed the explosive left-hander but couldn’t defuse the competition’s most dynamic partnership.

Short (32) and Wade (64) backed up their club record 158-run unconquered union against Adelaide on Monday night by putting together their ninth stand in excess of 50, yet again setting the platform for the middle order.

Ben McDermott chimed in with 41 from 31, while George Bailey iced the innings with an unbeaten 22 from nine balls, which included 22 runs from the final over sent down by Tom Curran.