The Hobart Hurricanes have had many thrills and spills over the first dozen seasons of the Big Bash but have never managed the ultimate goal of winning a trophy. While that is a record only shared by the Melbourne Stars, they can at least say they've been in twice as many grand finals. Between perhaps the worst international recruit of all time in Keemo Paul and the jaw-dropping timing of Ben McDermott's semi-final knock which quietened all of Western Australia, the purple army have had many memorable moments over their 12 years of BBL. Ahead of their season-opener on Monday at Launceston's UTAS Stadium against the Sydney Sixers, The Examiner ranks every season from worst to best and recounts the most memorable moment from each one. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments. Kumar Sangakkara, Stuart Broad, Tim Paine, George Bailey, Shaun Tait and Dom Michael...with names of this calibre it seemed a certainty that the Hurricanes would give the title a shake. What followed however, was a complete disaster. Fresh off an international career in which he smashed 12,400 Test runs at an average of 57, Sangakkara finished his stint in purple appearing as though cricket was not a sport played in Sri Lanka before he was eventually axed after four games into his second campaign. An innings in the ilk of which he would become known for, a young Ben McDermott blasted eight fours and nine sixes en route to 114 off 52 balls against Melbourne Renegades, taking down Australian internationals James Pattinson (0-47 off three overs) and Brad Hogg (2-45 off four), and Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera (0-59 off four). The Hurricanes would go on to chase the 223-run target on the final ball. This was a season that should have ranked higher for the Hurricanes after they found themselves with three wins from their first four. The experienced heads of Paine, Bailey and Dan Christian were all firing consistently with Sangakkara and Darren Sammy getting used to conditions for the back half of the season. But instead it all unravelled as the 'Canes lost their last four matches, including a heartbreaking defeat against Perth Scorchers by a single run. While the most memorable part of this clash was Chris Lynn's monster hitting and captivating winks to the bowler en route to 101, the Hurricanes would enjoy the spoils of victory at the Gabba against the Brisbane Heat. What should also be remembered was Christian's entertaining 56* off 24 and Sangakkara's collector's item 32 off 19. Last season was a case of poor road form for the Hurricanes who lost every one of their away matches. Paddy Dooley was an exceptional find with the ball as he and Riley Meredith claimed 40 wickets between them, while Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Zak Crawley would not be considered the worst imports, but they certainly did not take the competition by storm. Our first Hobart loss in this category, they looked odds on for victory when they posted 4-229 but a wonderful 100* off 59 from Matt Short led the Adelaide Strikers to an unlikely victory on home soil. Ashraf's effort of 0-61 off 3.3 overs was one he'd like to forget. After being right in the finals hunt with a record of 3-3, the Hurricanes lost their last two to fade out, finishing one spot but two wins from the knockout stages. Not much else to say for this campaign, except for one of the great BBL matches against the Heat, again. A nine-ball 34 from future Hurricane Christian inspired the Heat to 6-208, but Paine (55) and Ben Dunk (67) brought Hobart close before Bailey (28* off 12) finished the job. With an over to spare too. Sandwiched in-between a minor premiership and a grand final, BBL02 was a case of what could have been for the Hurricanes. Ricky Ponting led the way with the bat and Ben Laughlin ended up as the league's highest wicket-taker but their hold on fourth position was thwarted in the final match of the regular season by Brisbane Heat, who after beating them that day went above them on net run-rate, before going on to become champions. This season's memorable moment has to go to Xavier Doherty's hat-trick, with it being the first in the competition's history and also because the third wicket was an egregious decision. The highest-ranked non-finals season for the Hurricanes, they were the league's entertainers with D'Arcy Short, McDermott, Tim David, Matthew Wade and Dawid Malan all tonking it around various stadiums in Australia. Unfortunately their bowling did not match the standard and the season would ultimately end as a frustrating missed opportunity. With COVID-19 in full-flight, a memorable moment was tough, but their final game was the only one that Hobart played in front of more than 3000 fans. Unfortunately it was a loss to the Renegades which knocked them out of the competition. A season similar to the summer following, Short and Wade both delivered three figures in a single knock to help the 'Canes into the last finals spot, before being played off the park by the Sydney Thunder. As it's unlucky not to feature in the memorable moment, a quick shout out to Short's match-winning 103* off 70 to beat the Scorchers in Perth. The Hurricanes beat the Strikers by 10 runs in the final match to qualify for the knockouts, largely thanks to an enormous innings from Wade who smashed 11 fours and seven sixes in his 130* off 61. This three-year stint which followed their second grand final appearance will be looked back on with frustration for the Tasmanian-based franchise as they continued to spurn opportunities to go deep into finals. This campaign will go down as McDermott's. Leading the league with 577 runs, the right-hander went through a phase of utter domination in which he became the first player in BBL history to hit back-to-back tons. McDermott's love affair with the Renegades' bowling attack continued in BBL11 as he plundered the second of two centuries in consecutive matches. An innings of 127 off 65 while opening the batting included nine fours and nine maximums as the Hurricanes cruised to an 85-run victory. Wade and Short putting on massive opening stands and Meredith and lone successful English import Jofra Archer scaring batters bowling at 150 kilometres per hour, the regular season could not have gone smoother for the Hurricanes. As with many teams before, Hobart ultimately fell to the curse of being minor premiers, handing the Melbourne Stars their elusive first semi-final win, but the purple team's season was still one to reflect on proudly. A match which this writer attended (must be nice), James Faulkner lived up to his moniker of 'The Finisher' for one of the last times at Perth Stadium against the Scorchers. Facing the skilful Andrew Tye, Faulkner and Johan Botha required 16 off the last over and the Launceston all-rounder wound back the clock to hit a six, four, six in the first three balls in a manner reminiscent to his famous innings at the Gabba against England. Ah, the first year of Big Bash. Everything was new and no one really took it seriously. What a time. Travis Birt led the runs for the league and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan led the wickets as the Hurricanes surprised everyone to finish second, before bowing out to the Sixers in the semi-final. The first in a long line of high-scoring thrillers between Hobart and Brisbane, Matthew Hayden smashed 76 off 51 to help Brisbane to 201, before Owais Shah (69) and Birt (74) returned serve only for the 'Canes to lose by three runs. On face value, it is tough to argue that a season in which a team only wins three times in the regular season can be ranked as highly as this. But after stunning the minor premiers Melbourne Stars (who would get revenge, see BBL08), the Hurricanes were through to a grand final. Unfortunately, after losing the first two deciders, the Scorchers were not in a mood to lose a third. The Hurricanes played in an exciting contest where they chased down 210 against *checks notes* yep you guessed it. Christian and Joe Burns did most of the damage for the Heat, but Dunk inspired the 'Canes with a 33-ball 67, before Ulverstone's Ben Hilfenhaus whacked a four and a six off his first two deliveries to win the game. By no means an exceptional regular season, Hobart were carried by a heroic season from Short who hit consecutive 90s before breaking through for 122* off 69 two games later against - the Heat. But hopes of a maiden BBL title were unexpectedly lifted as they went over to Perth Stadium and knocked off the imperious Scorchers. A Jake Weatherald ton in the decider all but extinguished those hopes. Wade (71 off 45) and McDermott (67* off 30) were scintillating in the semi-final as they kept 'The Furnace' quiet all innings long to post 4-210, before Christian's 4-17 confirmed their grand final berth.
