The Sixers overcame the Strikers at the northern New South Wales venue before a Sunday night game at Optus Stadium saw the first century of the competition from Hobart Hurricanes’ D’Arcy Short.

On a rainy Monday night in Sydney, Brisbane Heat’s Tom Banton smashed the second-fastest half-century in BBL history in a shortened encounter. Brisbane’s eight over total was too much for Sydney, who were further hindered by a further rain delay and target revision.

Sydney Sixers beat Adelaide Strikers by seven wickets

A sell-out crowd in Coffs Harbour were witness to two favourites clashing, and it was Sydney Sixers who prevailed with a comprehensive seven-wicket win. The principal architect of the victory was Josh Philippe with 83 not out while Josh Hazlewood, in his first BBL game in six years, bowled his four overs for 18 runs and picked up the prize wicket of Alex Carey.

Before Philippe put the Strikers to the sword, it was Hazlewood leading the way with the ball. Strikers amassed 6/176 despite Hazlewood’s miserly spell.  Not one of the Strikers’ batters went to fifty but did contribute to the total. Lloyd Pope was among the wickets again, with 2-41, but not as economical as usual.  Tom Curran’s bowling malaise continued as the Strikers milked him at ten runs an over in his wicketless spell. Michael Neser and Rashid Khan played some lusty blows at the end of the Strikers’ innings.

With the Sixers captain Moises Henriques absent, the Sydney side brought in Justin Avendano to open with Philippe. The move proved to be a good one as the 26-year-old took advantage of his first start in BBL09. In an opening partnership of 72, it was Avendano who proved to be the senior partner with a quickfire 47. In 33 balls, he hit two sixes and four fours to give the Sixers a solid platform. Usual partner Daniel Hughes joined Philippe and the pair moved the Sixers towards their target in a controlled fashion.

Despite losing Hughes then James Vince with 13 balls to go, Philippe’s impressive innings made sure of victory. The performance was further evidence of youngster’s readiness for an international T20 call-up. Philippe has scored 256 runs in the competition so far, at a strike rate of 130.61, and is one of the main reasons why the Sixers are in the mix to take out the title.

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Hobart Hurricanes beat Perth Scorchers by eight runs

If you drop four chances to get a player out, he’s going to punish you. D’Arcy Short did just that with the first century of BBL09. Short plundered 103 not out from 70 balls to help the Hurricanes set a total of 2/180. With seven sixes and three fours plus fielding profligacy from the Scorchers, Short’s innings proved to be the difference between the teams.

The Scorchers will look back at the match and feel that they didn’t help themselves. Not only did they fail in the field, but their run chase was also undermined by losing three wickets for one run. Having fallen to 3/18 in the third over, they did well to get within eight runs of the Hurricanes. Mitch Marsh’s 48 and Cameron Green’s 33 kept the Scorchers just about in the hunt before Jhye Richardson almost became the unlikely hero. His 33 from 14 balls, including three sixes, carried the Scorchers to 8/172.

It was a closer game than it should have been. Richardson’s hitting kept the crowd at Optus Stadium optimistic of an unlikely, and unwarranted, victory. It’s the first game since the Scorchers’ comprehensive victory against the Heat on New Year’s Day. They have been unable to put two wins together in BBL09 and are currently sitting in seventh place in the standings.

The Hurricanes will be concerned that Riley Meredith pulled up with a ribcage injury. With James Faulkner out for at least two weeks with a calf injury and Short about to depart for Australia’s mini-tour of India, the last thing they need is to lose their leading bowler. Meredith has ten wickets in BBL08, and Faulkner has eight and will need Qais Ahmad to keep taking wickets if both pace bowlers are ruled out for an extended period.

 Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Thunder by 16 runs (DLS)

The rain in Sydney conspired to create a game that gives bowlers nightmares. When play finally got underway, Brisbane Heat batted first in an eight-over game. Chris Lynn promoted himself to opener, with Tom Banton, and smashed their way to a 17-ball fifty before finally having their partnership broken at the end of the fifth over with the score on 90.

Banton’s fifty came up from 16 balls, the second faster ever in the BBL, with Arjun Nair on the receiving end. Banton struck five successive sixes off the spinner as the Thunder were powerless to stop the onslaught. Lynn scored 31 off 13 balls before falling to ex-teammates Alex Ross and Brendan Doggett. Brisbane’s innings lost some momentum after the fall of Banton and Lynn but finished on 4/119.

The asking rate was 15 runs per over, and Usman Khawaja and Alex Hales opened the batting. Khawaja struck 11 from 8 balls before Zahir Khan’s wrong ‘un was too good. Another rain shower then halted Thunder’s response and a revised DLS total was required. With Thunder on 1/22 from 2.1 overs, the new target was another 55 runs from 17 balls.

With such a required run rate, Thunder could not afford any dot balls but lost wickets under pressure. Jack Prestwidge picked up two in his over while Laughlin picked up Callum Ferguson with the first ball after the resumption. Thunder ended 16 runs short of the revised total to give Brisbane Heat back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

The win put Brisbane into fifth place in the ladder just one point short of Sydney Thunder but with a game in hand.