The one team who have looked like they might be the fly in the ointment in terms of the Melbourne domination of the Big Bash is the Adelaide Strikers, the surprise package of the tournament so far.
Like the Renegades they are a team of few big names (Kieron Pollard being the biggest) but seem to have a great team spirit. As the highest scoring side in the tournament they are also very watchable. I've got them in the office sweep so they better keep on winning!
The Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers are lurking behind them and can't be counted out. The Hurricanes just thrashed the Sydney Thunder to make it two wins out of four thanks to a Ricky Ponting Man-of-the-Match performance.
Having only played about 25 T20 games in his life there were those who were starting to doubt whether he was actually any good at the format but the Ponting who scored 63 off 45 balls looked in scintillating touch. He even managed to turn his arm over and pick up a wicket! You couldn't have written a much better script for his first game of the competition at the Bellerive Oval.
The Perth Scorchers have recovered from losing their first two games to win their next two and they are in the mix as well. There is bad news for all Sydney cricket fans I'm afraid - your teams are propping up the bottom of the table.
The Thunder's presence there perhaps isn't a surprise but not many expected the defending champions the Sixers to be where they are. With just four games left they might have to win all of them to ensure qualification for the semis.
So that's basically what's been going on in a nutshell; I've got a couple of days off to stuff myself full of turkey and mince pies and I hope you do to! Merry Christmas!
