BBL: Frustrations boil over as Sydney Thunder takes down Sydney Sixers in rain-affected outcome

Sydney Thunder might have got desired result but the contest between them and the Sydney Sixers was borderline madness as rain ruined the match as a spectacle and turned the outcome into a lottery.

Umpire Gerard Abood (left) and Tony Wiilds suspend play due to rain.

Sydney’s rival Big Bash skippers have called for a rethink about how rain-affected T20 matches are decided after Saturday night’s Sydney Smash was ruined as a fair contest by light drizzle.

The Thunder got the two points after they beat the Sixers by four runs under the DLS system but neither captain was satisfied with the way the showpiece match panned out.

“Really pleased with the effort but it is a bit of a lottery at times,” Thunder captain Callum Ferguson said. “And we understand what it’s like to be on the other side of it and it’s really tough.”

Stream the Qantas Tour of India LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO with FOX CRICKET’s unmatched commentary line-up. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

No-one could ever begrudge the Thunder a bit of luck after they’ve been on the wrong side of so many other weather-interrupted matches but last Saturday’s match bordered on being ludicrous after the Sixers lost the toss and went out to bat on a damp pitch.

None of the Sixers’ top five batsman made more than five runs as they collapsed to 5-15 before making a minor recovery to reach 76 all out — the fifth lowest total by any team in BBL history.

Set 75 to win from 16 overs under the DLS system, the Thunder were 2-28 from 5.3 overs in reply when the drizzle returned and the umpires ordered the players off the field for the final time with the Thunder four runs ahead on DLS.

Umpires Gerard Abood and Tony Wilds speak during a rain delay.

Ferguson said the umpires were not to blame because they were following the rules but he thinks officials should try and find a better way to make it a fairer contest.

“You’d love to be able to stretch the game out longer and not have to worry about cut off times and what not,” he said. “It’s like test cricket, never ending tests aren’t around anymore either.

“It’s frustrating, I’m not sure exactly what the answer is, you just have to make sure the Duckworth-Lewis system is as fair as possible.”

“At least we got a result but again I just wonder whether five overs is enough time to really give you a genuine result, maybe that’s something we could look at, whether it needs to be 10 overs.”

A cranky Moises Henriques after being dismissed.

Daniel Sams made sure Thunder took the points.

Henriques was fuming when he was dismissed by a ball that rose sharply just moments after he asked the umpires if the pitch was safe enough to bat on.

“Just before we went back out I did ask the umpires if it was good enough to be batting on, they seemed to think it was and obviously I offered my opinion after I got out,” he said.

“There’s always going to be a team that comes out (losing) and a lot of the time it is the team that bats first especially when the wicket is so wet so whether it was ready to start on is up for debate.”

With the win, the Thunder climbed to fourth spot on the ladder while the Sixers remain in second, but with virtually no hope of overtaking the Melbourne Stars for top spot.

Groundsmen pull covers over the wicket during one of several rain delays.

Like Ferguson, Henriques said the rules on rain-affected matches should be reviewed after his side batted on a pitch where the ball was seaming all over the place while the Thunder went out later when the wicket had settled down.

“I think you could delay the start if anything rather than trying to get the maximum overs played in a game,” he said.

“If you want a more even contest for both teams I guess batting in the same conditions rather than when we go out to bat straight after the covers have been sitting on the wicket for four hours.

“They haven’t taken the covers off at all, and I’m not sure if they even rolled the wicket before we bat on it.

“And then it was aired for the best part of an hour and a half plus a 20 minute changeover and then they get to bat on a rolled wicket. ”

MORE CRICKET

SMART CALL: CAPTAIN MAXI GOES WITH GUT AND SPINS TO WIN

SPEED MERCHANT: WHY THE AUSSIES ARE THE ENVY OF WORLD

None of the Sixers’ top five batsman made more than five and English import James Vince said the conditions were so treacherous he thought he was playing at home in April.

“It was just difficult to know how to play really,” he said.

In deep trouble at 5-15 then 6-26 after Tom Curran was run out after a mix-up with Justin Avendano, the Sixers were in real danger of recording the lowest ever total in BBL but rallied to 76 after Avendano made 28 off 31 balls and Ben Dwarshuis chipped in with 19.

The Thunder lost Alex Hales for a duck then Usman Khawaja for 13 but Callum Ferguson and Daniel Sams, who also took 3-14 with the ball to take his totals of wickets this season to 20, safely got them past the DLS target.

“It didn’t look like there was a great deal of grass on the wickets so I was hoping that it might just skid through but it was definitely holding,” Henriques said.

“You could probably that the ball was bouncing quite steeply especially in the first five overs but barely making it to the keeper.”

Originally published as BBL: Frustrations boil over as Sydney Thunder takes down Sydney Sixers in rain-affected outcome