There are two additions to the Adelaide Strikers squad travelling to Hobart today ahead of the rematch against the Hobart Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen returns in place of Alex Carey who goes back to international duties, while batter Jake Weatherald has also been added to the travelling squad.
Squad of 16 v Hurricanes: Matthew Short (c), Wes Agar, James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Brendan Doggett, Adam Hose, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen (wk), Jamie Overton, David Payne, Lloyd Pope, D’Arcy Short, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald
After the Strikers had a five-wicket win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday night in front of their home crowd, the rematch at Blundstone Arena is a must-win clash for both teams.
Speaking at Adelaide Airport ahead of the flight, Strikers captain Matt Short said the side has hit form just in time.
“You set out every year to push for finals and it's been a little bit of an up and down season and we’ve made it a bit hard for ourselves needing to win the last four, but now we are coming off back-to-back wins and it’s a simple equation to win the last two,” Short said.
“We always knew if we played our best cricket that we could push for finals, we can beat any side.
“I think we finally stuck to our plans and executed well the last couple of games and that's really helped in in winning.
“Obviously [the Hurricanes] are a quality team and even though we had the win last night, we're not going to take them lightly and let them off the hook.
“It’s another big game – for both teams it is a do or die clash.”
The Strikers and Hurricanes are fifth and sixth on the ladder respectively with only one point separating the two.
Both teams need to win their two remaining games to give themselves a chance to make the BBL|13 finals.
The must-win clash will begin at 6:45pm ACDT on Thursday night and can be watched live on Channel 7, Kayo Sports and Foxtel.