Sydney Thunder 179 for 6 (Warner 49, Gilkes 43, Rutherford 39*, Morris 3-22) beat Perth Scorchers 177 for 4 (Allen 68, Connolly 43*, Green 3-20) by four wickets
Needing 15 runs off the last over to chase down 178, Rutherford blasted veteran seamer Andrew Tye for three boundaries including a thick inside edge that raced past short fine-leg for the winning runs. He finished 39 not out from 19 balls and had help from debutant Hugh Weibgen, who came on as a concussion substitute.
But their innings in the 16th over was halted by 20 minutes after Bancroft and Sams collided in the outfield trying to get to a catch. Both players were concussed and sent to hospital, but conscious and talking.
The crowd of 46,471 is Scorchers’ highest ever home attendance during the regular season.
Warner stars at the start, Rutherford at the close
He mixed inventiveness and power to help Thunder keep pace. Just before the drinks break, Warner sensed his move against legspinner Matthew Spoors, who was playing in his second BBL game. After reverse-sweeping him for a boundary, Warner was pinned on the pad by a quick delivery from Spoors, who mimics his bowling action on Rashid Khan. The lbw appeal was turned down, but Scorchers reviewed and Warner started to walk off the ground.
But ball tracking had the ball clipping the top of the leg stump and the decision stood, and Warner had to scurry back. He seemed intent to cash in before holing out, but Thunder received a lift in the back-end from Rutherford.
Weibgen had a tough initiation in his BBL debut but smashed a huge six off quick Jason Behrendorff in the penultimate over to leave Thunder needing 15 runs off the last over.
Rutherford stepped up and his winning blow triggered scenes of celebration from Thunder on the sidelines with Warner jumping for joy.
The horrific Bancroft-Sams collision
It was a collision that evoked images of Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie in Sri Lanka from 1999. Bancroft, who plays for Western Australia in domestic cricket, and Sams received a strong ovation from the fans as they left the field.
Finn Allen fires again
Much like last season, Scorchers had endured top-order wobbles and struggled during the powerplay. With consecutive belligerent half-centuries, Allen has provided the necessary spark and Scorchers’ batting-order looks much more imposing.
Having scored only ten runs in his first four innings, Allen exploded with 50 off 23 balls against Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve and he carried that form over much to the delight of a heaving crowd.
Allen started somewhat cautiously by his standards before smashing Lockie Ferguson into the second tier over square leg in a very high blow that almost sailed parallel to the headlights of the massive ground.
He dominated Scorchers’ powerplay of 35 for no loss and continued to strike mighty blows in his favoured area down the ground. He did have some luck after being dropped on 30 by backpedalling wicketkeeper Sam Billings before reaching his half-century in style with a six off Rutherford.
Allen’s fireworks were made even more notable with Matt Hurst and Aaron Hardie struggling with their timing.
He finally holed out in the 13th over, but Connolly and Nick Hobson once again batted well in tandem with a rapid 67-run partnership to lift Scorchers to a big total.
Lance Morris ramps up his speed
Fit and firing, Morris has been ramping up his speeds, and after a sluggish start to the season – where he had the ignominy of being dropped – he has been a strong performer across Scorchers’ past three matches.
Morris was sizzling with the new ball, reaching speeds of close to 150kph, and dismissed opener Blake Nikitaras with his first delivery. He returned to take the big wicket of Warner in the 14th over before finishing with 3 for 22 off his four overs.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
