Pawan Kumar
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The Thunder, who for the first time since 2013 included the famous David Warner, were rolled for 111, and the Scorchers pursued the meagre target with 43 balls to spare.
The Thunder’s lone bright spot was young gun Ollie Davies’ third half-century in the Big Bash League, while Scorchers veteran AJ Tye took three wickets in the first innings.
The Scorchers’ opening batsman, Cameron Bancroft, responded with an unbeaten 55 (40), helping the defending champions reach their target of 112 runs with nine wickets in hand.
David Payne, making his Big Bash League debut after the Scorchers won the toss and opted to play first, struck early by dismissing Thunder wicketkeeper Matthew Gilkes for a duck with an outswinger that nicked off the outside edge.
A.K.A. Lance “The Wild Thing” After that, Morris joined in and got rid of Sam Whiteman for 2 runs after catching a leading edge at deep third man.
Warner, making his return to BBL action after a nine-year absence, and young gun Ollie Davies helped steady the ship with a 67-run stand for the third wicket.
Warner messed up a lap shot and was caught behind for 19 (20) just as Davies celebrated his half-century, falling victim to Scorchers paceman Matthew Kelly.
David Warner's leadership ban could soon be over as Cricket Australia debates the prospect of losing a potential #BBL drawcard to an overseas rival. @BenHorne8 has exclusive details: https://t.co/ERQHVdfafG pic.twitter.com/tPfOZErMfO
— Courier Mail Sport (@cmail_sport) June 23, 2022
Davies got to fifty off of 30 balls, but Alex Ross was dismissed for a shaky 3 off of Kelly’s bowling. Ross was caught at deep third man.
The 22-year-old put on a show until he was out in the 13th over, when he was stumped for 52 (36 runs) while rushing down the pitch at Scorchers spinner Ashton Agar.
Morris claimed his second victim of the night when Ben Cutting was caught by Cameron Bancroft at midwicket for 9 (8).
At Sydney Showground, wickets continued to fall when Daniel Sams top-edged a draw shot into deep fine leg for 3 (6) and captain Chris Green followed him back to the pavilion a few minutes later.
Amid a catastrophic collapse that saw them lose 6-25 in quick succession, the Thunder saw Scorchers veteran AJ Tye add insult to injury by delivering a wicket maiden against their Power Surge.
Even though Nathan McAndrew offered some late excitement, he was eventually caught for 21 (17) by Bancroft, who made a spectacular diving catch at the long-on boundary rope.
Former Australian bowler Brett Lee exclaimed, “You’ve got to be kidding me” on Fox Cricket’s commentary.
Wow, that’s quite the catch… Where’s Bancroft’s cape now that he’s in the air?
MVP of the Game Tye finished off the tail by picking up two more wickets in the final over, giving him a total of three for twenty-seven in four overs and making him the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.
Bancroft and Stephen Eskinazi then put up a 77-run opening stand to bring the Scorchers dangerously close to their objective.
Although McAndrew finally broke the partnership in the ninth over when Eskinazi departed for 40 (26) after miscuing a pull shot, it was too little, too late for the Thunder.
The Scorchers reached their goal thanks to the efforts of Bancroft and all-rounder Aaron Hardie (11 not out off 11 balls), thereby increasing their advantage at the top of the BBL standings. The Thunder, however, have dropped to fifth place.
Sydney Thunder XI
David Warner, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Sam Whiteman, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green (c), Brendan Doggett, Usman Qadir.
The Perth Scorchers XI
Cameron Bancroft, Stephen Eskinazi, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Ashton Turner (captain), Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Matthew Kelly, Andrew Tye, David Payne, and Lance Morris.
