Australia’s Steve Smith is on a roll in the Big Bash League, playing for the Sydney Sixers. He’s scored two consecutive centuries, followed by a half-century, and most recently, a quick 33-ball 66 against the Hobart Hurricanes on Monday (23 January).
Smith and Josh Philippe formed a strong partnership for the Sydney Sixers, scoring 55 runs for the first wicket. Smith took charge, dominating the Hurricanes bowlers by hitting the ball to all parts of the field. He also capitalized on an error made by Joel Paris early in the innings, scoring 16 runs off one legal delivery in the second over of the Sixers’ innings.
Smith hit an unexpected shot for a six off a good-length delivery from Joel Paris, but it was discovered that Paris had overstepped, resulting in a free hit on the next ball. Unfortunately for Paris, he made another error and bowled a wayward delivery down the leg side, which raced to the boundary for five extra runs for the Sixers. On the following delivery, Smith hit another boundary, bringing the total to 16 runs for his team.
Thanks to Smith’s explosive performance and solid contributions from Moises Henriques (23 off 16), Sean Abbott (13* off 7), and Ben Dwarshuis (30 off 14), the Sydney Sixers were able to reach 180/7 in 20 overs. On the Hurricanes side, Patrick Dooley was successful in taking three wickets in his four overs while conceding 42 runs.