Defending champions Hurricanes on brink of elimination after last-ball heartbreak

The reigning champions extended their winless run to five matches this season with the four-wicket defeat at a chilly Bellerive Oval on Tuesday night.

Needing four off the last ball to win, Strikers' Sophie Ecclestone smashed spinner Molly Strano to the boundary over mid-off to break Hurricanes' hearts. They can still mathematically finish in the top four but would likely need to win all five of their remaining games to stand any chance.

It was the second last-ball loss in a row for the Hurricanes after a no-ball drama against Melbourne Renegades.

With the scores tied at 154 last Wednesday, Hobart was denied a super over when wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee caught the ball just in front of the stumps, triggering a no-ball.

On Tuesday night, Hurricanes players were spotted on the sidelines sifting their hands through a small box of sand, an apparent symbolic attempt to draw a line in the sand this season.

Explosive late hitting from captain Nicola Carey lifted the home side to a defendable - albeit sub-par - 138 for 5.

Lee was given a life on 10 but she couldn't make the Strikers pay as Ecclestone trapped her in front in the following over.

Rachel Trenaman's tough run with the bat continued with a meek caught-and-bowled dismissal for 9 and Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu (10 off 26) was retired out after struggling for timing.

It was the third time a batter has voluntarily ended their innings in the past five days after Perth Scorchers captain Sophie Devine became the first to do so in league history.

Pocket-rocket Carey rescued the innings with some big-hitting down the stretch, taking her career WBBL run tally past 2000.

Openers Maia Bouchier and Emma de Broughe got Strikers off to a fast start. After that pair departed, Australian vice-captain Tahlia McGrath and Maddie Penna gave away their wickets at key moments to keep Hurricanes in the hunt.

The visitors looked doomed when Laura Wolvaardt became the sixth wicket to fall when caught off the fifth-last ball of the match, with 10 runs required. But Ecclestone found the boundary twice as Strikers got back to 2-2 for the season.