The table-topping Hurricanes finished their regular season with a four-wicket loss to Sydney Thunder at Manuka Oval on Saturday night.

The club's fourth loss of a dominant BBL campaign, led by the league's two leading run-scorers D'Arcy Short and Matthew Wade, had zero effect on their ladder position.

Bookmakers suggest Hobart remain the team to beat in the playoffs, which start with the Hurricanes hosting either Brisbane Heat or Melbourne Stars in a knockout fixture.

However, the BBL's short history is littered with examples of minor premiers folding in the last four.

Perth did exactly that in 2018, winning eight of 10 games during the regular season then suffering a 71-run loss in the first BBL game at the city's new stadium.

The Scorchers were stunned that night by Hobart, whose 5-5 record for that season was quickly forgotten amid a flurry of Wade and Ben McDermott boundaries and an imposing total of 4-210.

"There's an element of luck in the way the semis are set up," Hurricanes veteran George Bailey said in Canberra.

"It actually doesn't matter if you've had a good tournament or a poor tournament. If you've been the leading run-scorer or haven't scored a run in your last 10 games.

"You just start from scratch.

"We take a lot of confidence out of the way we've played over a sustained period. It's very much just playing hopefully your best game of the year (at the right time)."

Calls for a rejigged BBL finals system, which might reward the top-ranked team with either a double chance or direct entry to the final, have been ignored by Cricket Australia.

Bailey was unhappy with his own knock of 53 off 35 balls in Canberra, feeling he should have done more to get McDermott (44 not out) on strike.

But he gave Wade, who scored 45 against Sydney to make it 590 runs for the season, another ringing endorsement regarding his push for a national recall.

"He's putting his hand up isn't he? He's ticking the boxes," Bailey said.

"He's doing everything that I reckon they'd be wanting."

Pat Cummins, who dismissed Wade in Canberra, suggested the former Test keeper is "at the top of his game".

"Like anyone, if he keeps scoring runs he's going to knock down that door eventually," Cummins said.

Australian Associated Press