Hobart Hurricanes head to Launceston for WBBL fixtures
A trawl through the WBBL07 stats will make the Hobart Hurricanes' journey up the Midland Highway fly by.
Providing they don't dwell on the ladder.
As Salliann Beams' side looked back on their commanding victory over Melbourne Stars at Bellerive Oval on Tuesday, the competition stats section made for healthy viewing.
Hurricanes players led the way in runs, wickets, highest scores, best bowling, best bowling average, best bowling economy, most sixes, most fours, most boundaries - and even the best batting average was topped by a former Hurricane (Georgia Redmayne).
Admittedly, this was largely due to phenomenal performances with bat and ball respectively from Rachel Priest and Ruth Johnston against the Stars.
Priest's 107 not out dominated most of the batting categories and saw her claim a monopoly on the one-woman club for most hundreds.
The veteran Kiwi wicket-keeper has amassed seven sixes, 13 fours, 130 runs, an average of 65.00 and strikerate of 134.02 from the 97 deliveries she has faced in three matches.
High praise for @GNRaiders quartet as @HurricanesBBL hit form in @WBBLhttps://t.co/XDWr2oAhlv
— Rob Shaw (@TheShawThing) October 20, 2021
Johnston may be half Priest's age, but is having a similar impact on the competition.
The Greater Northern Raiders teenager's 4-8 off 20 balls killed off any hope of a Stars' fightback and - combined with an equally stingy 0-8 against the Sixers two days earlier - earned her the league's best average (4.00) and economy (3.00).
All this while also sitting atop the Cricket Tasmania Premier League run-scoring and fourth in the bowling at the tender age of 18.
However, the Hurricanes' highlights do not end with these two stunning individual contributions.
Ahead of Wednesday's fixtures, Molly Strano was the league's leading wicket-taker (five at 13.20), Richa Ghosh sat fourth among the run-scorers (69 at 23.00) and second behind Priest in most sixes while six different bowlers have become multiple wicket-takers.
Ruth Johnston has been impressive with bat and ball for the Hurricanes.
And yet despite all this statistical magnificence, two losses from three fixtures have the Hurricanes languishing in the bottom half of the ladder.
The team's fate will be sealed in Launceston.
In a frenetic nine-day period beginning on Saturday, the city will host an unprecedented 15 WBBL fixtures - a third of them featuring the home-state side.
The 'Canes will kick off that schedule against Adelaide Strikers at Invermay Park after which they move next door to UTAS Stadium for clashes with Brisbane Heat (Tuesday), Melbourne Stars (Wednesday), Heat again (Saturday) and Sydney Thunder (Sunday).
By the time the competition moves to Western Australia and the purple shirts flood onto the WACA to face the Sixers on November 3, they will know whether finals and a maiden title remain possibilities.
Such eventualities would be a welcome reversal of established trends.
The vision of late Premier Jim Bacon to keep footy in the North and cricket in the South has been somewhat blurred.https://t.co/tteeVIQp2K
— Rob Shaw (@TheShawThing) October 11, 2021
Since being losing semi-finalists in the first two seasons of the competition (2016 and '17), the Hurricanes have finished last, last, second-to-last and last.
They have lost eight times more than any other team, have the competition's lowest score (66 in 2017), worst losing margin (103 runs in the same game), longest losing streak (10 matches) and most losses in a season which - impressively - they achieved twice (12 in 2018 and '19).
This could be the season to end all that given the quality available to Beams.
Securing the competition's all-time leading wicket-taker Strano from the Renegades was a signing of Cristiano Ronaldo proportions and the 29-year-old Victorian - the only bowler to take more than 100 WBBL wickets - wasted little time assuming top spot for this season.
Strano, Priest, Ghosh, Nicola Carey, Naomi Stalenberg, Belinda Vakarewa and Tayla Vlaeminck all have international experience so when the team's final signing Mignon du Preez was asked how far they could go this year, the vastly-experienced South African - with 251 international appearances to her name - didn't hesitate in replying: "I'm going to put my head on the block, I think we'll go all the way."
Amy Smith celebrates claiming a wicket with Sasha Moloney.
Hurricanes results
Match 2 v Melbourne Renegades
Lost by 6 wickets
Match 4 v Sydney Sixers
Lost by 5 wickets
Match 6 v Melbourne Stars
Won by 63 runs
Hurricanes batting
M Runs HS Ave
RH Priest 3 130 107* 65.00
RM Ghosh 3 69 46 23.00
NE Stalenberg 3 46 28 23.00
Hurricanes bowling
M Wkts BB Ave
M Strano 3 5 3/19 13.20
R Johnston 3 4 4/8 4.00
NJ Carey 3 3 2/11 21.00
Hurricanes team
Rachel Priest (c), Richa Ghosh, Naomi Stalenberg, Molly Strano, Nicola Carey, Sasha Moloney, Ruth Johnston, Mignon du Preez, Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck, Amy Smith
Tayla Vlaeminck in full swing against the Melbourne Stars.