BBL: Perth Scorchers thump Sydney Thunder as finals race heats up
Once is misfortune, twice is careless ... but three times? Brendan Doggett had a horror night in the field as the Thunder crashed to an embarrassing eight-wicket loss.
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Sydney Thunder captain Callum Ferguson is backing Brendan Doggett to rebound from Monday’s nightmare night in the field, saying the whole team will get around the young paceman.
Doggett dropped Perth Scorchers opener Liam Livingstone three times as the Thunder crashed to an embarrassing eight-wicket loss.
The first dropped catch was a tough chance in the outfield when Livingstone was on 32.
The second dropped chance was off his own bowling, with Doggett falling on his backside as he grassed a Livingstone shot that flew dazzlingly high into the air.
The night of embarrassment was complete when Doggett dropped Livingstone for a third time in the dying overs, with the straight-forward catch simply slipping through his hands.
Livingstone ended up scoring 78 off 49 balls in a man-of-the-match effort, with the Scorchers chasing down the 154-run victory target with 27 balls to spare.
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Ferguson said 25-year-old Doggett, who returned figures of 0-20 off two overs, would rebound from the poor display.
“We just try to get around him and pick him up,” Ferguson said.
“He’s a fantastic athlete and he’s been a very good and strong contributor to our fielding group so far this tournament.
“No doubt he’ll want to take more catches and get under the lights and practice a bit more before the next game, but he did have one of those (bad) nights, and he doesn’t have too many bad ones in the field.
“He’ll bounce back, it’s just about our teammates showing strength and getting around him and making sure (he’s ok).”
Doggett finally had something to smile about when he took a diving catch to remove Josh Inglis for 58, but it was too little, too late.
The loss leaves the fifth-placed Thunder precariously placed as the battle for top-five spots heats up.
The Brisbane Heat are just one point adrift of the Thunder and have a game in hand.
It means the Thunder might need to beat both the Hurricanes (away) and Scorchers (home) in order to secure a finals berth.
“They’re both must-win games for us in our eyes,” Ferguson said.