Hobart beat Thunder in BBL

As christenings go, it was a shocker.

Sydney Thunder’s first home match at the Big Bash League’s newest venue should have been a night to remember in front of 15,880 spectators, but it quickly became one to forget.

Captain Mike Hussey suffered a calf injury and his side crashed to a five-wicket loss to Hobart Hurricanes in a crucial mid-table clash at Spotless Stadium.

Thunder made just 7-77 in a match reduced to 17 overs a side by a 25-minute rain delay.

Hobart reached their revised target of 82 with 20 balls to go, with the victory moving them up to fourth, two points clear of Thunder, who have played one game less.

Man of the match was unheralded Hurricanes paceman Jake Reid, who recorded his best BBL figures of 4-11 from his four overs, having not claimed more than one in his two previous games.

Thunder needed early wickets, but didn’t strike until the fifth over, by which time Hobart had rattled up 30.

Openers Ben Dunk and Michael Hill scored 22 and 24 respectively and new import Shoaib Malik 18.

Hobart lost 3-15 near the end and got home despite some good bowling from Jacques Kallis (2-18) and Gurinder Sandhu (2-17).

Earlier, Hussey hurt his left calf before being dismissed for nine.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done it,” Hussey told Network Ten about his calf injury.

“I’ll see how it pulls up, hopefully it’s not too bad,” added Hussey, who had no idea whether he would be right for Thunder’s next game on Monday against the Strikers in Adelaide.

Most batsmen seemed to struggle on the drop-in pitch, which offered some movement and variable bounce.

A fifth wicket stand of 48 either side of the rain break between left handers Daniel Hughes (26) and Mark Cosgrove (22) added substance to a Thunder innings which crashed to 4-27 in the ninth over.

Kallis fell for five and new Thunder import Jason Roy for four, all of those runs coming off a single shot from a dropped catch in the slips.

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