Alex Hales hits 56-ball 110 as Thunder beat Sixers by 46-runs. Earlier in the day, Perth Scorchers eased past Hurricanes to all-but guarantee playoff qualification
Thunder ensured that the Sydney Smash bragging rights were shared across the city after inflicting a record-breaking victory over their local rivals.
Having lost to Sixers by five-wickets earlier in the tournament, Thunder posted a huge 232/5 to claim the record for the highest total in BBL history. Thunder now have two of the top five highest knocks, and overtake Hobart’s previous record of 223/8, set in BBL06.
Alex Hales was the star for Thunder, scoring 110 to record the second century of BBL10. Callum Ferguson (42), Sam Billings (33) and Ben Cutting (33) also contributed useful knocks as Thunder cruised to a near-unbeatable total.
Chasing 233 was always going to be ambitious and losing Josh Philippe, James Vince and Daniel Hughes before the 10-over mark all-but guaranteed victory for Thunder. Moises Henriques, back from international duty, and Jordan Silk put together a 90-run partnership to put the victory celebrations on pause but, after smashing Steve O’Keefe for 18 in the second over of the game, it was always going to be Thunder’s day.
The victory lifts Thunder up to third in the table, four points clear of sixth-placed Hurricanes with two matches remaining. Sixers remain top but are now only four points clear of Perth Scorchers in second.
Alex Hales brings up his 🔟th ever #BBL10 50! 👏
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) January 22, 2021
In just 26 balls too! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EMzA8Eds2h
You wait all tournament for a century and then two come along at once. Yesterday it was Alex Carey, today it was the turn of his namesake, Hales. The England international made light work of Sixers’ bowling attack, bringing up his 50 after 26 balls before passing 100 in just 51 deliveries.
Eventually dismissed for 110, Hales scored nine fours and eight sixes to become the first Englishman to record a century in Big Bash history. Hales has now overtaken Philippe in the Golden Bat standings and has also hit the most sixes in the tournament with 26.
Not content with those achievements, Hales’ knock saw him pass 1000 career runs for Sydney Thunder. The 32-year old replaces Shane Watson as Thunder’s third-highest scorer of all-time, with 1038 runs in 29 innings.
It’s not how he would have wanted to celebrate it but in taking to the field against Sydney Thunder, Dan Christian became the first player to reach 100 BBL matches. The 37-year old has played for Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers since 2011, winning the BBL on two occasions.
Marking his century of appearances in the Sydney Smash, Christian went for 48 off his three overs, took a catch to dismiss Billings off Ben Dwarshuis’ bowling and hit three fours on his way to 21 not out.
Jhye Richardson was the star once again for Perth Scorchers as they secured a 22-run victory over Hobart Hurricanes. The 24-year old smashed 29 off 14 balls, including three fours and two sixes, to help Scorchers set Hobart a target of 180 to win, before taking 4-33 with the ball. His performance restored him to sole leadership of the Golden Arm standings, having taken 25 wickets in 12 matches at an economy of 6.47.
Strong swing of the bat from Jhye Richardson!
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 22, 2021
Six more #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/mYgVesBlPj
Josh Inglis also performed for Scorchers, recording his second half-century of the tournament with a team-leading 58 from 35 deliveries.
In reply, Hurricanes initially struggled to build a partnership, slumping to 33-3 after losing Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott and Dawid Malan to single-figure scores. Peter Handscomb (30) and Will Jacks (21) restored some middle-order stability, accompanied by opener D’Arcy Short (43), while Tim David contributed a smash-and-grab 27 off 19 deliveries. However, it was too little too late for Hurricanes who fell short of victory.
Brisbane Heat travel to Melbourne Renegades in Saturday’s early match, knowing that anything short of a four-point victory leaves them in serious danger of missing out on play-off qualification.
Big Bash fixtures 2020-21: Full BBL schedule, matches dates
Facing bottom-placed Renegades, on paper this is the fixture of dreams for Heat. However, Renegades have pulled off shock victories over Perth Scorchers, Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars this season and have nothing to lose, having already been eliminated from the playoffs.
Perth Scorchers can all-but guarantee a qualifier match against Sydney Sixers with victory over Melbourne Stars in Saturday’s second fixture. Four points will also bring Scorchers level on points with first-placed Sixers in what is the turnaround of the tournament after losing three of their opening four matches.
Stars, meanwhile, are coming into this match off the back of just their second Melbourne derby defeat in seven matches, so will be fired-up for the contest at the MCG.
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