The Thunder imploded after the power play with David Warner’s lone hand not enough as the Sixers stormed to victory in the Sydney Smash thanks to a masterful spell from Steve O’Keefe.
The Sydney Thunder made 132 all out from 19.4 overs in reply to the Sydney Sixers’ 7-151 at the SCG, with David Warner top scoring with 37, but Steve O’Keefe was the hero with figures of 3-13 from his four overs.
The Thunder were a 90.26 per cent chance of winning after being 0-44 after the power play, but they imploded from there on to surrender to the Sixers.
The Sixers made 7-151 from their 20 overs after being sent in by the Thunder at the SCG, with Josh Philippe top scoring with 47 after Steve Smith got a first ball duck.
Moises Henriques was mic’d up on Fox Cricket and was pulling no punches as he called the shots to finish off the win.
Speaking to his bowler Sean Abbott as Liam Hatcher came to the crease, he said: “Midwicket is the catcher. He stays so far leg side, he won’t lap. He’s scared s**tless.”
That pretty much summed up the performance from the Thunder, whose batting has let them down all season.
David Warner’s box office helicopter arrival helped supercharge a sellout SCG crowd, but it was a Sixers legend who took flight with the ball, strangling the Thunder’s chase and ending their finals hopes.
On a two-paced wicket, and with the Thunder openers plundering the new ball, Stephen O’Keefe choked the chase dead in its tracks with 3-13 from four overs.
After Josh Philippe top scored with 47 off 35 balls in a seemingly below par 7-151, Warner and Englishman Alex Hales fired up the chase, cracking six fours and two maximums in a punishing 44 off four overs.
Sensing a challenge to the Sixers’ finals hopes, skipper Moises Henriques went to O’Keefe and never looked back.
With Hales and Cameron Bancroft back in the pavilion at the end of the left-armers first over, the chase lost momentum and was terminated when Warner was the seventh to fall 50 shy of the target.
The 19-run victory secures the Sixers a spot in next week’s finals, while with only one win to date, the Thunders’ quest for a second title is over despite still having two more games to play.
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL DAVEY
Less than a week after a fairytale finish to his 112th and final Test match, the Thunder opener amped up the glamour in what is now a global farewell tour.
Following a chopper-fueled getaway from his brother’s wedding in the Hunter Valley, it wasn’t long before Warner was scratching his guard within striking distance of the drop-off zone.
In the first of three outings for the lime green before International League T20 commitments in the UAE, the left hander arrived in menacing form, launching sixes off Sean Abbott and Jack Edwards in consecutive overs in a loan hand of 37 off 39.
OPEN SLATHER
In the battle of the Aussie batting champions, it was Steve Smith who had first say.
His selection as Warner’s replacement to open in next week’s Test in Adelaide may have divided opinion, but in magenta it’s usually a no brainer.
In the corresponding clash last season, Smith plundered an unbeaten 125.
Yet before most fans had taken their seats, he’d already skied the opening delivery of the night from Daniel Sams to deep square and was heading towards the exit.
“I don’t think Steve Smith has mishit one for the Sixers in two seasons, I can’t believe that,” said Fox Cricket’s Mark Waugh.
“It is a pretty hard shot to play first ball.”
GRAY SPARKLES
Toby Gray won’t forget his BBL debut in a hurry.
With a solitary Shield appearance for NSW under his belt, the 22-year-old Thunder leggie was tossed the ball just as James Vince and Josh Philippe had put on 50 for the second wicket.
Before Super Smash full house of more than 41,000, Gray didn’t skip a beat, trapping Vince on the crease before the ball skidded into the stumps to silence the pro-Sixers home crowd.
ONE MORE SONG
While Warner made the rock ‘n’ roll entrance, Moises Henriques was soon pleading for one more song from his ageless spinner.
“O’Keefe told his teammates in recent days that he is done, but you might have to change his mind,” Fox Cricket’s Mark Howard said to Henriques on the field after the spinner’s double wicket strike.
“Every year I tell him one more year, so I am hoping he has a late change of mind,” Henriques said.
TEAMS
Sixers: Steve Smith, Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Jack Edwards, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Todd Murphy, Stephen O’Keefe
Thunder: Alex Hales, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Oliver Davies, Chris Green (c), Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Toby Gray, Liam Hatcher, Tanveer Sangha
MATCH PREVIEW
All eyes will be on David Warner after his mercy dash from his brothers’ wedding when the Sixers host the Thunder in the Sydney smash at the SCG.
The Thunder have won the bat flip and elected to bowl first.
Warner came straight from the wedding in the Hunter on a helicopter in a bid to play his first game of the season for the Thunder after retiring from international cricket.
The third placed Sixers can jump the Scorchers into second with a victory, while the second last Thunder are playing for pride after a disappointing BBL13 campaign.
The Sixers are coming off a win over the Stars in their last start, while the Thunder lost to the Scorchers.
New Test opener Steve Smith will be in action for the Sixers and will likely partner James Vince at the top of the order, while Steve O’Keefe and Sean Abbott will lead the charge with the ball.
Warner and Cameron Bancroft will lead the charge with the bat for the Thunder, while Daniel Sams and Nathan McAndrew will be key with the ball.
It sets the scene for a tantalising clash between the old Sydney foes in front of a packed Sydney Cricket Ground.
