Poised to face the Melbourne Stars for the second time in just over a week, Hobart Hurricanes coach Adam Griffith is keen to act on the lessons learned in a rough loss as they take to UTAS Stadium on Monday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Decimated by Haris Rauf, who was recently playing for Glenorchy in Cricket Tasmania's Premier League, Tasmania's team went down by 52 runs on December 22.
The home side won't need to worry about Rauf this time around, but his replacement international, South African great Dale Steyn, certainly offers a dangerous prospect.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
"We probably started a bit sloppy in the field and with the ball, we fought back really well and restricted them to what we thought was a chase-able target," Griffith said on the loss.
"Unfortunately from a game-plan perspective, we just didn't execute well enough at the top of the order with the bat but the boys showed last game, they've worked on that really well.
"The batting group performed beautifully in the last game so we are looking for that to continue."
Rejuvenated over the Christmas break after facing a hectic travel schedule of three games in five days across three different states - Northern Territory, Melbourne and Tasmania - former South Launceston bowler Griffith is excited for his home-town return.
"It's always good to come back to Launnie, that's where it all started for me.
"The weather's been turned on for us as well so we are looking forward to getting down to the ground and checking out the new outfield and hopefully we get a big crowd there."
Boasting an average crowd of 14,341 across the three matches hosted at UTAS Stadium, the Stars drawcards of Steyn, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell are bound to attract an impressed crowd.
"Both teams have had some good wins and some losses as well so we are just going about our business plan the way we normally do and hopefully we will come out on top Monday night."
A key link in that plan is Clive Rose, who is hoping the Launceston wicket will suit him and fellow spinner Qais Ahmad.
"The last few times [we've played here], the wicket has spun a little bit so its been enjoyable for me to play here," he said.
"The crowd's really good here, the North side of the island get behind us which is really good so I'm looking forward to playing down here again."
The game gets underway at 7:10pm.
Hobart Hurricanes Squad
Ben McDermott (c), Qais Ahmad, George Bailey, Scott Boland, Nathan Ellis, James Faulkner, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Simon Milenko, David Miller, Clive Rose, D'Arcy Short, Mac Wright
Subscriptions are available here.
Sign up to our Sport email here.
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
