Wild weather wrecks SCG roofing, gifts Hobart top spot

Wild weather has blown off a section of SCG’s roofing, prevented decision review technology from being set up, and ultimately sealed the Hobart Hurricanes’ spot atop the BBL ladder.

Security guards evacuated fans from two bays in the Bill O’Reilly Stand as a piece of vinyl soffit sheeting began to flap violently in the wind prior to the Sydney Sixers’ clash with the Sydney Thunder on Friday night.

No one was injured when the roofing fell around 6:30pm but the area remained cordoned off, with spectators relocated to another bay.

“We were looking at that and going, ‘That’s not ideal and quite dangerous’. Luckily it came down when no one was sitting there,” Sixers spinner Todd Murphy told AAP.

Wind had been so violent before the game that ball-tracker and ultra-edge were unable to be calibrated.

David Warner (22no from 14 balls) made a positive start after the Thunder lost the toss and then Test opener Sam Konstas (9 off 13) to a stunning Jack Edwards yorker.

The second of two rain delays stopped proceedings for around 90 minutes from 7:55pm and play never resumed, the Thunder finishing at 1-36 when the hotly-anticipated grudge match was abandoned. Only 5.1 overs were bowled.

The Sixers had needed to beat the Thunder to have any chance of locking up top spot on the ladder to finish the regular season.

They will instead finish second after both teams earned one point for the washout.

The Sixers travel to Hobart to face the first-placed Hurricanes in a grand final qualifier on Tuesday.

“It’s a position we’ve been in before where we’ve had to travel away for a qualifier. I think the group’s excited by the opportunity that’s going to present to us down in Hobart,” said Sixers batter Jordan Silk.

Locked into third spot, the Thunder will host a knock-out finals match on Wednesday night at ENGIE Stadium.

The remaining five teams are all mathematical chances to finish fourth and face the Thunder, but the fourth-placed Melbourne Stars are the only side that will not rely on others’ results.

If the Stars beat the Hurricanes on Sunday, they will return to the finals for the first time since 2019/20 on the back of a five-game winning streak.

In 13 previous editions of the BBL, the Hurricanes have finished the regular season in first place only once before and are one of only two sides yet to win a title, along with the Stars.

But if they defeat the Sixers on Tuesday, they’ll host the first BBL grand final to be held in Hobart, where they have not lost this season.

Friday’s game was due to be red-hot Steve Smith’s last innings before he and Konstas fly out for Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka this weekend.

Smith saved Warner’s shot to long off from becoming a six with some gutsy fielding on the boundary, but rain denied him a chance to bat.