Hobart Hurricanes must complete their title defence without Nathan Ellis after the captain failed to shake off hamstring tightness picked up against Brisbane Heat. The seamer travelled to Sydney, hoping to feature in Friday’s Challenger against Sydney Sixers at the SCG, but was withdrawn on match-day and replaced by batter Charlie Wakim.
“Hobart Hurricanes can confirm that skipper Nathan Ellis will miss the remainder of the BBL season and the BBL15 finals due to hamstring tightness,” the club said. “Ellis, who missed the Knockout on Wednesday night, was aiming to return for the final two matches of the BBL finals but was unfortunately unable to overcome the injury.”
Ben McDermott, who oversaw the narrow three-run Knockout win over Melbourne Stars, continues as stand-in captain. The winner of Friday’s game meets Perth Scorchers in Sunday’s final at Optus Stadium.
Ellis, the Hurricanes’ leading wicket-taker this season, had already been rested from Australia’s looming T20I tour of Pakistan. National selectors will monitor his recovery with the T20 World Cup only months away. Former Australia quick Trent Copeland noted on television duty that Ellis’s “clever variations and death-overs calm make him hard to replace”.
The Hurricanes’ bowling depth faces another question mark: Chris Jordan did not bowl or field against the Stars and appeared uncomfortable after a late cameo with the bat. Head coach Jeff Vaughan offered few guarantees, saying the all-rounder “will be given every chance to prove his fitness”.
Even without Ellis, the side’s seam attack still includes Riley Meredith and Nathan Ellis’s fellow death-overs partner Joel Paris, yet the balance has shifted. Sixers captain Moises Henriques kept the focus tight, remarking: “In finals you play the team in front of you, injuries or not.”
For Hobart, the equation is clear: win twice in three days without their skipper, or surrender the trophy they lifted last summer.
