Big Bash Daily: Thunder go top as Heat dodge rain to beat Stars

The Cricketer looks at the talking points from the latest round of BBL matches in Perth and Carrara...

Lara's platitudes

With a Test series ongoing between Australia and India and obvious restrictions surrounding availability, it is quite the coup for Channel 7 to get Brian Lara in the commentary box for the Big Bash League.

Regrettably, the West Indies legend's contributions cannot be classed as anything remotely resembling the impact he made during his playing career.

Lara can be forgiven for not being an expert regarding every player and team in the BBL. We're not asking for a deep dive into Nathan McAndrew's career and or unpicking of Nick Winter's rise. 

But he should know the game. Lara only played three competitive T20s in his career but that is largely irrelevant. What he doesn't know about striking a cricket ball isn't worth knowing. Unfortunately, we're still none the wiser.

As it turns out, Lara appears more willing to keep those secrets to himself. It was a largely inconsequential performance from the former left-hander, who quickly resorted to platitudes regarding "building partnerships" and whatnot. He could have been anyone, which is a problem.

It highlights the difficulty of punditry. You can have performed at the highest level of your profession, but if you don't have the skills to explain yourself then those experiences will remain your own.

The same goes for coaching. There is a reason why the greatest across sport don't always prevail when they move from the heat of battle to the dugout. An inability to enunciate yourself can be key.

Big Bash squads 2020-21: Full BBL 10 player lists

Thunder underline credentials

Sydney Thunder lead the charge for their second BBL title after going top of the table following a thoroughly impressive win over Hobart Hurricanes.

There is a really talented blend in the squad, with the likes of Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson backed up by Arjun Nair and Tanveer Sangha, who is now the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker.

Hurricanes' batting order needs some adjustment going forward, however. Peter Handscomb, Colin Ingram, Tim David and Mac Wright is a formidable middle-order but work is required to ensure it produced the goods. And it surely will.

This was a sixth win in seven for Thunder, who have only been overturned twice so far. There are no givens with four points on offer for a win but they are already seven ahead of sixth place with half a dozen matches to play. The play-offs are surely a formality already.

Brilliant Bryant

Max Bryant stemmed a late surge by Melbourne Stars with a piece of fielding which we are rapidly becoming used to.

The 21-year-old had earlier failed to complete the second relay catch of the Stars chase, with the Brisbane Heat man stepping the wrong side of the rope before throwing it back for James Bazley

But he more than made up for it three balls later, as he launched himself mid-air over the rope and pulled the ball back, denying Nick Larkin a maximum.

After Nicholas Pooran at the IPL and Steve Smith in the India T20 series, this is another of an increasingly prevalent genre of fielding. And in saving four runs (Stars ran two) it was crucial to the final outcome.

RIDICULOUS! 🤯pic.twitter.com/fULtJDe0y6

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) January 7, 2021

Maxwell and Pooran watch on

Though they got the rough end of the conditions in Carrara, facing an adjusted target of 129 from 10 overs without a power surge, Stars may still be wondering how they didn't get the job done against Heat.

Central to their failure was a return of three boundaries from the first 22 balls. Opening with the out-of-nick Andre Fletcher was an error, not helped by Marcus Stoinis' slow start.

They needed 104 from the final 38 balls with Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell both waiting on the sidelines. That in itself is a ridiculous statement.

Given the fireworks produced first by Pooran and then Nick Larkin, there is an argument to be heard Stars were too rigid with their batting order. Coupled with Bryant's heroics, an 18-run DLS defeat could easily have been breached had greater thought been put into the order.

Maxwell's first ball demise was partly born out of that failure to get off to a good start, meaning he had no choice but to swing hard at anything he could reach.

Nicholas Pooran. First ball 🔥#BBL10 pic.twitter.com/tZxOOqwHSm

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) January 7, 2021

Cricket overkill?

Thursday (January 7) was billed as a bumper day of cricket in Australia, with the first day of the third Test followed by back-to-back BBL matches, with no overlap between the three.

We went from Sydney to Perth to Carrara during a 14-hour cricketing marathon. It was approaching midnight local time in Australia before play finally came to an end, not helped by the rain delay.

Credit to anyone who lasted the pace. If indeed that person exists.

The ECB will have been among the interesting onlookers, knowing they have a bumper summer schedule upcoming, with much of the fixture list still be to be revealed. However, this kind of strategy simply doesn't work, even in the Covid-19 era.