Fawad Ahmed spins Thunder to Sydney Smash derby

The Thunder won the Sydney Smash convincingly in the end at Spotless Stadium to claim early bragging rights over the Sixers and give their cross city rivals a taste of Christmas stuffing a day early.

Fawad Ahmed celebrates a wicket. Picture: AAP

The Thunder won the Sydney Smash convincingly in the end at Spotless Stadium to claim early bragging rights over the Sixers and give their cross city rivals a taste of Christmas stuffing a day early.

Jos Buttler’s 63 helped the Thunder post a respectable total of 9-169, despite a mid-innings collapse where they lost 6-45, which the Sixers never really challenged despite Tom Curran’s 62 after top the order failed for the second match in a row.

Fawad Ahmed celebrates a wicket. Picture: AAP

Leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed did the damage with the ball for the Thunder, picking up three wickets as the Sixers finished with 9-148.

The Thunder’s 21-win lifted them to the top of the Big Bash standings after two rounds and off to Hobart to face the also-undefeated Hurricanes while the Sixers host the Melbourne Stars next.

ENGLISH PRIDE

If Joe Root is hoping playing in the Big Bash will help him get back into England’s T20 team, he’ll have to get a wriggle on.

The English Test skipper made 18 in his BBL debut against the Melbourne Stars and only nine against the Sixers. He ran out Callum Ferguson after a mix up when he was 23 then was clean bowled by Steve O’Keefe before he had a chance to make amends.

His English teammate Buttler fared a lot better, top scoring for the Thunder with a sparking 63 off 37 balls in front of smaller than expected crowd of 10,508.

Buttler got a life on six when he was dropped at slip but made the most of his second chance by plundering six boundaries and three sixes, reaching his half-century when he smacked another Englishman Joe Denly over the long on rope.

SPIN KING

England allrounder Curran was the pick of the Sixers’ bowlers, finishing with 3-24 after mopping up the tail after in-form spinner Steve O’Keefe put the brakes on the Thunder’s scoring.

Man of the match in the Sixers’ win over the Perth Scorchers on Saturday, O’Keefe gave up just four runs from his first two overs then claimed the vital scalps of Buttler and Root to trigger a collapse.

Jos Buttler slugs one to the boundary. Picture: Getty

BOOM OR BUST

Boom teenager Jason Sangha came back to Earth after scoring a half-century on debut when he made just three, never looking comfortable in his six-ball innings which ended when he holed at mid off.

Sangha spent most of his time at the crease watching Daniel Sams go ballistic at the other end.

Sams came in after Sangha but belted 26 runs off the first eight balls he faced, including successive sixes off Sean Abbott, before his 19-year-old teammate was off the mark.

Sams finished with 28 but would have made more if not for a screamer of a catch by wicketkeeper Josh Philippe to send him on his way.

GOLDEN DUCK

Fresh from their match winning 124-run partnership against the Scorchers, Daniel Hughes and Jordan Silk only managed two runs while batting together against Thunder, with both falling in the same over.

Silk was clean bowled by Ahmed for a golden duck then four balls later Hughes hears his stumps shattered when he misjudged a googly from Ahmed, who trapped Josh Philippe in front in his next over.

HUGE SIX

Sean Abbott took a caning with the ball, going for 48 from his four overs, but he took out his revenge when he got the bat in had, making an entertaining 35 off 28 deliveries and sharing an 88-run stand with Curran for the seventh wicket.

The highlight of Abbott’s innings was a monster six of Ahmed which not only cleared the rope at long on but hit the roof of the stadium and went out of the ground.

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Originally published as Fawad Ahmed spins Thunder to Sydney Smash derby