Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder, WBBLT20, Today Match Prediction 30 October 2023

HHW vs STW Match Prediction & Analysis

Hobart Hurricanes haven’t had the best of starts to the new season of the 2023 Women's Big Bash League. After having played three games, they have managed to win just one while losing two. With just 2 points in their kitty, the Hurricanes are currently second from last in the points table with a poor net run rate of -2.203. Hobart will next clash with Sydney Thunder Women at the Aurora Stadium in Launceston on October 30. Although Hobart have a good recent record against Sydney Thunder, they have challenge on their hands. Sydney Thunder have raced to the second spot on the table after winning their first two matches on the trot and boasting an impressive NRR of 1.718. 

RECENT PERFORMANCE

HHW

W L L

ADSW

74/1 in 8.0 9.25

WBBLT20

Hobart Hurricanes beat Adelaide Strikers by 7 wickets 27 Oct 2023

HHW

76/3 in 7.0 10.86

PRSW

161/3 in 18.3 8.7

WBBLT20

Perth Scorchers beat Hobart Hurricanes by 7 wickets 25 Oct 2023

HHW

158/10 in 20.0 7.9

HHW

88/10 in 15.5 5.56

WBBLT20

Perth Scorchers beat Hobart Hurricanes by 98 runs 20 Oct 2023

PRSW

186/4 in 20.0 9.3

STW

W W

STW

148/2 in 17.3 8.46

WBBLT20

Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Renegades by 8 wickets 26 Oct 2023

MRW

147/5 in 20.0 7.35

STW

190/5 in 20.0 9.5

WBBLT20

Sydney Thunder beat Sydney Sixers by 42 runs 22 Oct 2023

SYSW

148/9 in 20.0 7.4

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Hobart Hurricanes Preview

After losing their first two matches, Hobart Hurricanes finally clinched their first win of the season against Adelaide Strikers Women. In a match reduced to eight overs a-side, Hobart chased a target of 75 with exactly one over and three wickets to spare. That win would have given the team a much-needed boost after those two demoralizing losses.

Skipper Elyse Villani, who top-scored in the last game with an unbeaten knock of 39 off 24 balls, is now the team’s leading run-getter with 78 runs in 3 innings at a strike rate of 156.

Naomi Stalenberg didn’t get to bat in the last game, but she has been impressive this season so far, collecting 61 runs in 2 innings at a strike rate of 160.52.

Hobart has a reliable core of experienced batters. Villani, Lizelle Lee, Heather Graham, Nicola Carey, and Bryony Smith collectively anchor the batting lineup. We are expecting some runs in this game from Graham and Lee.

On the bowling front, Hobart will depend on spinner Molly Strano and experienced seamer Shabnim Ismail to deliver. Strano has been among the wickets this season and has gotten good help from Graham and Carey, who a lot of the key overs too.

Hobart Hurricanes Predicted Playing XI:

Lizelle Lee (wk), Elyse Villani (c), Bryony Smith, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Naomi Stalenberg, Tabatha Saville, Hayley Silver-holmes, Molly Strano, Amy Smith, Shabnim Ismail

Hobart Hurricanes Actual Playing XI:

Elyse Villani, Lizelle Lee, Naomi Stalenberg, Bryony Smith, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Amy Smith, Maisy Gibson, Molly Strano, Nicola Carey, Shabnim Ismail

Sydney Thunder Preview

Sydney Thunder Women mean business this year. They have won two games on the trot – by 42 runs against Sydney Sixers Women in their season opener and by 8 wickets against Melbourne Renegades Women in their previous match. In the match against the Renegades, Sydney was set a target of 148 to chase at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Chamari Athapaththu’s wonderful knock of 80 from 54 deliveries helped them polish off those runs in just 17.2 overs.

Athapaththu is their star overseas batter, and a lot is expected from her. She has been in great form this year in limited-overs cricket, and it appears she is all set to have a big year at the WBBL.

Phoebe Litchfield (183 runs in the last 10 matches at a strike rate of 130.71) is another batter worth watching out for. She has looked in fine nick this season, and we feel she will have a big impact for the team.

On the bowling front, Athapaththu and Heather Knight are doing a solid job with the spin duties, but the team needs their seamers to fire and take more wickets up front. Marizanne Kapp and Samantha Bates did a nice job in the last game, picking up one wicket each while going for less than 7 runs an over. Hopefully, they will continue the good work.

Sydney Thunder Predicted Playing XI:

Tahlia Wilson (wk), Chamari Athapaththu, Phoebe Litchfield, Heather Knight (c), Marizanne Kapp, Anika Learoyd, Olivia Porter, Claire Moore, Hannah Darlington, Samantha Bates, Ebony Hoskin

Sydney Thunder Actual Playing XI:

Anika Learoyd, Claire Moore, Heather Knight, Olivia Porter, Phoebe Litchfield, Chamari Atapattu, Marizanne Kapp, Tahlia Wilson, Ebony Hoskin, Hannah Darlington, Samantha Bates

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The surface at Aurora Stadium is a pretty balanced one, providing assistance to both seamers and batters. Pace bowlers have usually dominated this track as they enjoy the bounce and seam movement they get from it. However, we saw in the last game that once batters get used to the conditions, they can play their strokes freely and get a big one. 

The weather in Launceston will be cloudy for most of the game, with a couple of showers expected at some point during the day.

HHW vs STW Pitch Report

The average first innings score at Aurora Stadium in women’s domestic T20s is 133. The highest total posted here is 186. Scores below 150 have happened 16 times here in 20 games. The team batting first must look to set a target of around 150-160 runs.

Toss: To Bowl

Aurora Stadium usually favors the team batting first. Out of the 20 women’s T20 domestic games splayed here, including the previous one this season, 12 have been won by the team batting first. So, it’s likely that the team winning the toss will choose to bat first here. However, with the weather being cloudy, the toss-winning team might be tempted to bowl first as well.