The Sydney Thunder’s resurgence will stretch into the Big Bash League finals after Test sensation Sam Konstas hit his second T20 half-century in a 61-run defeat of the Perth Scorchers.
Konstas (53 runs off 42 balls) was the sole survivor of a top-order collapse before a cameo from defiant No.9 Tom Andrews (37 from 13) powered the Thunder to 7-158 on a turning ENGIE Stadium pitch.
After the Scorchers wobbled to 6-63 at drinks with two run-outs allrounder Chris Green (3-13) thrived in the spin-friendly conditions to help skittle Perth for 97 in the 18th over.
After winning only one game last summer, the Thunder the result sit top of the ladder, albeit level on points with Hurricanes and Sixers who each play in the next two days.
More significant is they are now unable to be ousted from the competition’s top-four ahead of their final match of the regular season against the Sydney Sixers.
“To get into the finals, we’ll obviously be extremely happy about that over the next day or so but we obviously know that there’s some more games out there to win,” Andrews said.
“Hopefully we can take it later into the tournament and see what happens then.”
The Scorchers’ own play-off hopes hang by a thread and could be dashed by the time they face the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday.
In 13 previous summers, the five-time champion Scorchers have missed the finals only twice.
“(It’s a) bad result for us, obviously, there’s no hiding behind anything,” said Scorchers spinner Ashton Agar.
“We still have to look forward to the next game, that’s just what professionals do.”
Teenage firebrand Konstas (53 off 42 balls) showed his maturity in anchoring the Thunder’s innings after the hosts were sent in and had the breaks put on during the powerplay.
The Thunder lost David Warner (8) and Matthew Gilkes (8) in the same Lance Morris (3-43) over and went 60 balls without hitting a boundary as the Scorchers’ spinners frustrated their foes.
Agar (1-14) and Cooper Connolly (1-16) were miserly in their four overs.
Konstas broke the drought with a trademark reverse sweep for four off would-be Test teammate Connolly in the 14th over – the only boundary the Scorchers conceded from spin in 60 balls.
The 19-year-old Konstas brought up his first half-century since returning from Test duties with a four down the ground before Nick Hobson sprinted at midwicket to dismiss him in the same Morris over.
After six recognised batters fell in single figures, Andrews breathed life into the Thunder’s innings with three sixes among the six boundaries of his blistering cameo – including one over long off from the final ball of the innings.
200 T20 wickets and counting. Congrats Greeny
— Sydney Thunder (@ThunderBBL) January 13, 2025pic.twitter.com/THXYMUL2i6
Their season effectively on the line, the Scorchers came up with some diabolical decision-making in reply, losing key men Sam Fanning and Connolly to run outs amid the tough chase.
Aaron Hardie (22 off 17 balls) clipped straight to Green at mid on but inexplicably signalled for a run and watched as opener Fanning fell to a direct hit from the Thunder allrounder.
Connolly could consider himself a little unluckier after Gilkes picked him out with a direct hit from more than 35 metres away at mid-wicket.
It wasn’t to be the last heroic fielding effort from the Thunder, whose captain Warner leapt to dismiss Agar at long off in the power surge and consign Perth to a wounded 7-76.
Green, who had made a handy unbeaten 20 with the bat, enticed Ashton Turner (4) to picking out Gilkes in the deep before ripping through the tail en route to a big win.
With Monday night’s 61-run loss to the Sydney Thunder, the Scorchers fell to the bottom of the ladder and will rely on a multitude of results falling their way to clinch the last finals spot available.
The Scorchers must defeat the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday, hope the Melbourne Stars lose their final regular-season game and need the Brisbane Heat to drop both of theirs.
Sam Konstas. (Photo by Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
They must also hope the Melbourne Renegades lose to the Hobart Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
Even if all of those results come to pass, the Scorchers will have to rely on net-run rate to join the Thunder, Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers in the final four.
It would mark only the third time in 14 BBL seasons that the Scorchers miss finals.
“When we reflect on the season, obviously we’ll think, jeez, there were a few games there in a row that were really close and that were in our grasp well and truly and we let it slip,” Agar said.
“That’s always disappointing but sometimes that’s the way it goes”
Agar predicted some off-season soul-searching for the perennial BBL heavyweights.
“As long as we reflect honestly with ourselves as players, we look at where we can improve and we try to get better, that’s all you can ask of anyone,” he said.
“The feeling is we hate losing. There’s still a lot of fire in the belly and all of us take pride in our performance so we know we have another crack at performing. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”
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