Big Bash League: Sydney Sixers beat Sydney Thunder, Highlights
Sydney Sixers stars Sean Abbott, Moises Henriques, and Jordan Silk took the top spot in the BBL table with a win over the Sydney Thunder (seven wickets)
Sydney Sixers beat Sydney ThunderPaceman Abbott led a strong bowling performance by the Sixers on Sunday as they restricted Thunder to 8 for 133 in the Sydney smash derby at Sydney Showground Stadium.
The Sixers were 3-25 after four overs, but middle-orderers Silk and Henriques took control, scoring 75 balls to reach a stand of 109 for the fourth wicket.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And HOW ABOUT the ultra impressive 53* off 38 from the skipper, bringing up his 50 whilst hitting the winning runs 🫡 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBL12?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBL12</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZZHr1Tjixx">pic.twitter.com/ZZHr1Tjixx</a></p>— Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SixersBBL/status/1612273047205203970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Silk (59 off 42) and Henriques (53 off 38) proved their experience by playing the ball into the gaps and scoring a boundary or two when the Thunder bowlers made mistakes.
For Silk, it was his first BBL 50 of the season, and for Henriques, it was his highest score.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Silky meant business last night with an elite 59* off 42 deliveries 🙌 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBL12?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBL12</a> <a href="https://t.co/NaFPRSsKgv">pic.twitter.com/NaFPRSsKgv</a></p>— Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SixersBBL/status/1612271509204275200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The win, which was achieved with 3.4 overs remaining, puts the Sixers ahead of the Scorchers in the first place, although Perth still have two games in hand.
The Thunder lost for the first time in five games and fell to fourth place behind the Melbourne Renegades on net run rate.
Abbott revealed there had been some on-field disagreements between the two Sydney teams. The Sixers weren't happy about not starting the Thunder's last over of the innings on time and fielding one less outfield player outside the circle.
In front of a crowd of nearly 21,000, both innings started similarly.
Thunder fell behind by three lbw decisions within the first three overs with 3-12 to go when Alex Hales fell for a golden duck.
Alex Ross (34 off 34) and Sam Whiteman (42 off 34), who scored 64 in his first BBL game of the season, revived the Thunder's innings.
The Sixers retook the initiative with 3-17 to play, but Ben Cutting (26 not out from 15 balls) kept the Thunder's total climbing with his hits in the game's closing stages.
Abbott (3-9 off four overs) tossed 17 dot balls to increase his haul to 16 this season, second only to AJ Tye of the Scorchers and Henry Thornton of the Strikers.
Thunder needed quick wickets and, like Sixers, struck three times in the powerplay, with captain and spinner Chris Green (2-29 off four overs) and pacemen Brendan Doggett (1-23 off four overs) doing the damage.
Alex Hales, Vince and Sixers paceman Chris Jordan all played their final game of the season BBL.
The Sixers can again call on Test players Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon, while Thunder returns David Warner.
Player of the Match: Sean Abbott was named Man of the Match for his great Bowling Spell (4-0-9-3)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">3-9, with a whopping 17 dot balls!<a href="https://twitter.com/KFCAustralia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KFCAustralia</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBL12?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBL12</a> <a href="https://t.co/mlg08jZ4wt">pic.twitter.com/mlg08jZ4wt</a></p>— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBL/status/1612049090984177671?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The squad of the Sydney Thunder
They were playing - Matthew Gilkes (wk), Alex Hales, Sam Whiteman, Oliver Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Ben Cutting, Chris Green (c), Brendan Doggett, Usman Qadir, and Nathan McAndrew.
Bench - Joel Davies, Toby Gray, Ross Pawson, Baxter Holt
The squad of the Sydney Sixers
They were playing - Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Kurtis Patterson, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Christian, Jordan Silk, Chris Jordan, Todd Murphy, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, and Ben Dwarshuis.
Bench - Daniel Hughes, Jackson Bird, Mickey Edwards, Steve OKeefe, Izharulhaq Naveed, Jack Edwards