Cricket news: Sydney Thunder crashes to lowest ever team score in 12 seasons of BBL
It will go down in history as one of most stunning capitulations in world cricket after Sydney Thunder were bundled out off just 35 balls to claim an unwanted and humiliating BBL record.
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Adelaide Strikers have obliterated Sydney Thunder at the Sydney Showground on Friday night, bowling out the home side for an embarrassing 15 runs.
Yes, you read correctly. Thunder was all out for 15. It was U/10s stuff. It was unbelievable.
Consider the numbers.
Henry Thornton took 5/3 off 17 balls. Wes Agar took 4/2 off 12 balls. Matthew Short took 1/5 and a catch of the summer.
The entire Thunder innings lasted 35 balls.
Rashid Khan didn’t bowl. Peter Siddle didn’t bowl.
There were five ducks. Wicketkeeper Henry Nielsen took five catches.
“I don’t have much to say about it, to be honest,” Thunder captain Jasan Sangha said.
“It’s not like we went out to be crazy. Nine of 11 batsmen out caught behind … we nicked off too many times.
“I don’t want to dive into it. But end of the day it’s just not good enough for a professional team to be bowled out for that many runs.
“I don’t know. It wasn’t like guys were out there trying to throw their wicket away.”
They didn’t have to — Thornton and company were bowling hand grenades.
“We’re just a bunch of good blokes doing our best,” Thornton said. “It was a bit surreal in the huddles. No-one could believe it was going on.”
At the halfway mark it had looked good for the home side after the Strikers, confronted by a fine bowling performance by Sydney Thunder, amassed 9/139.
And then the carnage began. Matthew Gilkes recorded his second duck in two games when he cut Short uppishly to point where Alex Hose took a fine diving catch.
Jason Sangha came in and Thornton had two for none when the captain edged to Nielsen.
Strikers captain Peter Siddle brought in two slips.
Short took a one-handed blinder at first slip to dismiss Riley Roussow.
Dangerman Alex Hales was soon gone, edging Wes Agar. It was such that a Daniel Sams’ single was Bronx cheered by the small home crowd.
When Agar bowled Sams and Thornton had Ross the Thunder had lost five wickets for nine runs in the first 17 balls.
“It’s an absolute shambles here at the Showground,” Brett Lee declared in commentary. He didn’t know half of it.
Thornton got Hales caught behind the Thunder were 6/9 off 19 balls.
Chris Green defended Thornton’s next ball, and the home crowd roared approval. Then they did it again. And again.
The lowest BBL score was the Melbourne Renegades’ 57 in 2015. Thornton delivered the only maiden of the tournament.
When Ollie Davies tucked a single through gully, the crowd roared like he’d hit a six.
Then Green was gone, off Agar, caught behind.
They were 7 for 10. Then 8 for 10!
When Thornton got rid of Ollie Davies, out slashing, Thunder were 9/14.
Out came Fazalhaq Farooqi. And back he went. His team all out for 15.
SANDHU’S KNEE-TREMBLER
Girender Sandhu carried his Manuka Oval heroics into Friday night when he stood at fine leg and waited for Adam Hose’s massive top edge to come down. After the ball had soared nearly as high as the Sydney Showground lights and with wicketkeeper Matthew Gilkes bearing down on him, Sandhu pouched the rainmaker low to the ground.
Henry. Thomas. Raphael. James. York. Thornton. #BBL12pic.twitter.com/aSW07oy8bX
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 16, 2022
THE FAROOQI
Left-arm Afghan Fazalhaq Farooqi impressed in the early overs of Adelaide’s innings and later in the power surge with high quality, skidding seam bowling. He swung the ball both ways, mixed up length and speed, and delivered toe-trembling yorkers.
And after each dismissal, as has recently become his way, he ripped off his signature celebratory high-kick which, it is understood, Thunder teammates don’t yet have a name for given he decided to do it on a whim last match.
When Sandhu pouched a top-edge at third man off Wes Agar, Farooqi had three wickets and the Big Bash had a new showman from Afghanistan — even if another one, countryman Rashid Khan, asserted top dog status by whacking Farooqi over mid-wicket and pointing pointedly at the 22-year-old from the Hindu Kush.
No words. #BBL12pic.twitter.com/2Zc2AtGysi
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 16, 2022
If any team would have been all-out for 15 in IPL then the rest of the world would have been crying 'fixing, fixing......'. but thank God it's Big bash and everyone will appreciate the bowling now.
— Vishak G Shetty (@VishakGShetty1) December 16, 2022
Henry Thornton 2.5-1-3-5
— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) December 16, 2022
The cheapest 5 wicket haul in Big Bash League #BBL12pic.twitter.com/TUTBSc96PS
ON STRIKERS
On a chilly night at the Sydney Showground, in front of a crowd that appeared in the hundreds, the apparently ageless vegan Peter Siddle, 38, won the flip and elected to bat.
After a 10-minute delay caused by the late-finishing Stars-Hurricanes game at the MCG, impressive left-arm Afghan seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi opened the bowling and snared Thunder’s first wicket when Matthew Short mis-timed a pull shot, the ball soaring to cover where Ollie Davies took the catch.
Jake Wetherill, out of form, mis-timed a pull shot and spooned a catch to Sangha. And both Strikers openers were gone for 27 inside the first four over power play.
After six overs Adelaide was going at less than a run a ball and lost three wickets.
LYNN-SANE
Big-hitting marquee man Chris Lynn came in and immediately drew a monster shout for LBW that Jason Sangha elected not to review. Lynn, who limped to six from 13 balls, barely got out of first gear for the first half of Adelaide’s innings. Then Brendan Doggett came on — and Lynn decided: it is time. In 13 balls he smashed 30 runs.
At the other end Black caps all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme was following suit, smashing Chris Green over mid-wicket for six then two balls later repeating the dose over mid-on — both copybook cricket shots.
Yet just as it seemed the Thunder trundlers were under the pump, Lynn was caught by Matthew Gilkes from a top edge that came down with ice on it, while de Grandhomme was very sharply caught by Davies at mid-wicket.
FAULTY HOSE
After 35 minutes of play an irrigation leak caused a three-minute delay. “If there’s a leak, that’s when you need Hose out there batting,” Brett Lee said in commentary.
Clark making up for lost time
- Ronny Lerner
Century-maker Joe Clarke is determined to “right the wrongs of last year” and be part of the Melbourne Stars’ first Big Bash League title this summer.
The Stars’ had one of their worst tournaments last season, finishing sixth and missing the finals for just the third time in their history.
The men in green have been one of the hard-luck stories of the BBL, making five semi-final appearances, and finishing runner-up three times, but failing to break through for a championship.
Fresh from smashing 101 not out against Hobart on Friday night, Clarke expressed a strong desire to change the Stars’ fortunes in 2022-23.
“There’s been some amazing players, especially from England, who have come and represented the Stars,” Clarke said.
“Amazing players who have represented the Stars locally and overseas players, so there’s too much talent in that dressing room to have not had one (title).
“I’ve come over again to right the wrongs of last year in a way and get to finals and then anything can happen in finals and hopefully we’re there at the end and playing in a final.
“I said immediately that I was available the whole thing, I didn’t want to go play in any other competition, I felt like I owed Melbourne Stars my availability for the whole competition and hopefully contribute enough to get to finals and win a competition, especially with ‘Huss’ (David Hussey) being his last year as head coach as well.
“He backed me in last year and brought me over so it would be nice to do that for him as well.”
Clarke admitted he had unwanted flashbacks to last year’s campaign, when Covid ravaged the Stars’ squad for a number of games, after key duo Marcus Stoinis and Joe Burns recently tested positive to the disease.
Stoinis has played the first two games for the Stars this season, but has made a pair of ducks.
It was a case of zero to hero for Clarke who cost his team a victory off the final ball in their last game against the Sydney Thunder when he missed the ball after taking his glove off in his role as wicketkeeper in anticipation of a run-out, allowing Sydney to get a bye and win by a wicket.
Clarke responded with his maiden BBL century against the Hurricanes off just 65 balls to guide the Stars to an easy 38-run win three days later.
“I took my glove off (against Sydney) because I thought he (Beau Webster) was going to bowl a cutter into the wicket and then he bowled at pace and I was so close it just did me for pace,” Clarke said.
“That’s just cricket and I took a gamble and it didn’t come off.
“To get one (century) here (at the MCG) as well is even more special.”
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Originally published as Cricket news: Sydney Thunder crashes to lowest ever team score in 12 seasons of BBL
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