Teams Status

Sydney Thunder

On Boxing Day, the lesser Sydney side was yet again reminded that it is, indeed, lesser than its far more illustrious city rival.

The Sydney Smash, as it’s called, was won by the Sixers, who were depleted by the Thunder could still not beat them.

In a rain-shortened 16-over match, the Thunder managed to see the back of in-form Sixers openers Josh Philippe early but were then frustrated by two Sixers players who had been quite so far this BBL.

Daniel Hughes smashed a 26-ball 50 and Dan Christian was even more devastating in his 17-ball 41. Chasing 168 was a tall task but there was hope as the Sixers were missing several of their key bowlers. However, the Thunder lost opener Matthew Gilkes and kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, and although they kept pace with the run rate, they ran out of wickets and capable batsmen in the end.

Jason Sangha top-scored for the Thunder with 47 off 30 while Daniel Sams contributed a whirlwind 11-ball 28 as the Thunder fell short by 30 runs.

Perth Scorchers

Perth Scorchers made it six wins out of six matches with a Boxing Day besting of Melbourne Renegades, and are now four points clear at the top of the table.

Just as was the case in the first match against the Renegades a few days ago, Mitchell Marsh was the player of the match. Not only did he bowl three suffocating overs and pick up a wicket, he then expertly guided the run chase alongside Colin Munro, who outscored him with a 58 off 32 but Marsh still got the nod for the best player due to his all-round effort.

The Scorchers are now officially a juggernaut and stopping them would take some doing. Their players feature high both on the batting and bowling charts and are showing no signs of slowing down.