Thunder down Heat to claim big BBL win
George Clarke |
Sydney Thunder batsman Alex Hales says he and his teammates felt like they had a point to prove after marking their return to the Sydney Showground with a 10-wicket victory over the Brisbane Heat on Tuesday.
The home fixture was the Thunder’s first since they were all-out for 15 against Adelaide less than a fortnight ago, with Hales (59no) and fellow opener Matthew Gilkes (56no) to thank for their dominant showing.
The win – with 50 balls to spare – was the Thunder’s second of the season and moves them off the bottom of the BBL table.
The cavalier approach from Gilkes and Hales helped the Thunder chase down the Heat’s target of 121 with ease, much to the delight of the 8,534-strong crowd.
Gilkes in particular took great delight in punishing Test hopeful Mitchell Swepson (0-40 from three overs), smashing him across the ground for 25 off one over.
“What happened in the last game (at home) … this was the polar opposite,” Hales said.
“I thought we bowled really well, they were brilliant from the get-go and they’ve been really good all year, our bowlers.
“It was good to back it up with the bat. You try not to speak about that, what happened was an anomaly.
“It was probably more on the crowd’s mind than ours, we just wanted to make sure we were positive and try to get on top of them early on.”
Brisbane had a hard night after winning the toss and opting to bat, with Max Bryant, Sam Billings and Matt Renshaw all walking for single figures.
Opener Colin Munro steadied the ship with a methodical 43, building a balanced partnership with Jimmy Peirson (27).
There was some concern when Peirson was hit on the helmet by a 132kmh pacer from Nathan McAndrew in the 11th over.
While Peirson was able to play on, his dismissal was the start of the Heat’s implosion, with Munro going and Michael Neser walking for a golden duck.
Xavier Bartlett added a rapid 28 off 17 balls to leave the Thunder with a modest and achievable total.
They rose to the challenge with Gilkes and Hales making a point of going after Swepson and Neser from the get-go and they didn’t relent.
“Hales is world class and Gilkes batted terrific too,” Neser said.
“We know we can play good cricket, it’s just inconsistency.
“The gap between our best and our worse is a lot and hopefully that (gap closing) is not too far around the corner.”
AAP
