Edwards shines but rain wrecks Sixers’ BBL hopes
Scott Bailey |
The Sydney Sixers have been denied a BBL win over cross-town rivals the Thunder in dramatic fashion, after rain washed out the match at the Sydney Showground.
With five overs needed to constitute a match, the Sixers were 1-34 after four overs in pursuit of 152 for victory when persistent rain stopped play and did not let up in time for players to return.
The Sixers would only have needed to be on 33 at the end of the fifth over to win under the Duckworth Lewis Stern system, provided they did not lose another wicket.
The stoppage came after Thunder captain Chris Green had been in discussions with umpire Greg Davidson between overs, before players were taken off.
The decision prompted Sixers captain Moises Henriques to walk on to the ground with his bat in hand and helmet on in frustration, seemingly arguing that play should not have been stopped.
Adding to the Sixers’ frustrations was the fact that the Thunder were one over behind on the over-rate, according to the ground’s clock.
The draw keeps the Sixers in third spot on the BBL ladder, while the Thunder are stuck in second-last with one win from their opening five games.
Earlier, Sixers allrounder Jack Edwards produced the best bowling figures of his BBL career to keep the Thunder to 7-151.
Edwards bowled superbly and took the key wickets of Alex Hales (26) and Daniel Sams (30) in figures of 3-24.
It came as the Thunder stumbled to 4-53 in the eighth over, before Sams and Alex Ross (44) helped bat the hosts towards a somewhat competitive score.
But still, the innings belonged to 23-year-old Edwards with the ball.
One of the few bright lights of NSW’s domestic season, Edwards stood tall on Saturday night for the men in magenta.
After Hales threatened to go large with a massive six over the legside off Sean Abbott, Edwards had him caught in the deep in the next over.
And when Ross and Sams looked as if they were setting up for a big finish, Edwards was the man to remove the latter at long off.
The seamer also accounted for Nathan McAndrew late courtesy of a neat Jordan Silk boundary catch, in a superb 18th over that went for only three runs.
AAP
