Desperate to make up for the disappointment of missing last year’s tournament through injury, Renegades all-rounder Dwayne Bravo sought out a new T10 league to sharpen the skills he displayed so superbly on Thursday night.
After the hometown Hobart Hurricanes had sprinted out of the blocks with a 53-run opening stand between Alex Doolan (26 off 21 balls) and D’Arcy Short (34 off 19), Bravo was called on to stem the bleeding and ravage the Hurricanes line-up.
He dismissed Doolan to slow the Hurricanes’ scoring and, after taking 2/7 in his first spell, returned at the tail of the innings to claim three further wickets — his haul of 5/28 the best ever by a Renegades bowler in the Big Bash and making him the first player to record 400 T20 wickets.
But if the odds weren’t already stacked heavily in the favour of batsmen in T20 matches, Bravo took part in the first T10 tournament played in Sharjah in India over three days earlier this month and says it helped hone the variations that he used to torment the Hurricanes batsmen in his side’s seven-wicket win.
“It’s really to test your skills,” Bravo told Channel 10 of the six-team T10 tournament that boasted many of the game’s most dynamic batsmen and skilful bowlers.
“For me I use it as preparation to challenge myself.
“Some of the better players in the world playing in that tournament at a very small ground so basically I get my variations and my yorkers right. It gives me confidence coming into this game.
“I challenged myself with my preparation coming to the Big Bash because I wanted to do well.
“Last time I missed out because of injury. I always want to start well in any tournament and happy that I did well in a winning performance.”
And in a stern warning to the rest of the Big Bash teams, Bravo expects his performances to improve as confidence grows in the hamstring injury that ended his BBL06 tournament 12 months ago.
“Fitness is good, a bit cautious because of what happened last season, so definitely I’ll be taking my time,” Bravo said.
“I think as the tournament progresses I’ll gain more confidence moving around.
“I have a good medical team with the Renegades so I feel comfortable with my body.”
After the Hurricanes’ bright start it was Bravo and Afghan off-spinner Mohammad Nabi (1/25) who dragged the ascendancy back the way of the Renegades. Hobart’s top scorers were Short and Ben McDermott (34 off 24) as each of the top five got past 20 but got little further.
There was a brief moment of hope for the Hurricanes when Clive Rose backed up after having the first ball of the innings hit for four to claim the dangerous Aaron Finch next ball, but a 113-run stand between Cameron White (79* off 59) and Marcus Harris (50 off 34) ensured the visitors could coast to a comfortable win, reaching the target of 165 with seven wickets and nine balls to spare.
HITS
Dwayne Bravo’s ability to use subtle variation to disrupt the batsman’s timing drove the Hurricanes crazy. They were deceived by the slow ones and caught out by the quicker ones and each different delivery landed exactly where it was supposed to.
It was a game-changing spell and a rare five-for in the shortened version of the game.
Bravo wasn’t the only West Indian to impress on Thursday night. Jofra Archer was making his Big Bash debut and the right-arm quick from Barbados showed skill with both bat and ball to suggest he will be one to watch in BBL07.
As the rest of the Hurricanes bowlers went for nine an over and higher, Archer took 2/17 at an economy rate of 4.25 to be the lone highlight in an otherwise disappointing bowling performance from an attack that relied too heavily on a pace barrage.
It must be somewhat tough on the soul for Victorian players who go from the Stars to the Renegades, but Cameron White proved he can still be a dominant force in the Big Bash with a faultless match-winning innings.
Coming in after just two deliveries, White used his extensive experience to first settle the situation and then accelerate alongside Harris, refusing to throw his wicket away as he steered his side successfully to their target with minimal fuss.
MISSES
The Hurricanes had a plan to ruffle the Renegades’ feathers with a pace barrage designed to blast batsmen out.
The only problem was that both Tymal Mills and Aaron Summers struggled with control to go with their speed and they were charging in to batsmen who love nothing more than having the ball come onto the bat.
It’s the slow stuff that the hitters struggle with, coach Gary Kirsten might need to think about a reshuffle for their next game against the Thunder.
If you’re in the crowd at a Big Bash game there’s a big chance a ball might end up coming your way. If it does, you’ll more than likely end up on TV so you want to give the best account of yourself.
One poor punter at Blundstone Arena not only dropped one chance over the fence but was caught out again shortly thereafter.
He was seen soon after walking from the ground, head bowed.
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