Ricky Ponting didn’t hold back as the Thunder fell to the Scorchers

The Scorchers crushed the Sydney Thunder on Monday night, with the playing surface catching the eye of an Australian great.

Ricky Ponting didn’t hold back in his assessment of the Sydney Showground pitch as the host Thunder suffered another heavy BBL defeat on Monday night.

The Perth Scorchers bounced back from a rare loss to crush the Sydney Thunder by seven wickets, as Ashton Agar set a new BBL record among spinners.

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The Scorchers cruised to their target of 138 runs with five balls remaining to move up to second spot and all but end the Thunder’s finals hopes in front of 8,672 fans.

The reigning champions controlled the contest even as Thunder opener Alex Hales (72) carried his bat into the last over, restricting the hosts to 8/137.

The Scorchers made light work of the chase as opener Zak Crawley (58) steered them to 3/140 to set up a top-of-the-table clash with the Brisbane Heat on Wednesday.

England openers Hales and Crawley appeared at home on the tricky deck, but Australian great Ponting was much less impressed with the playing surface.

Ricky Ponting (centre) wasn’t impressed with the playing surface at Olympic Park. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

“I just think the wicket that we’re seeing tonight is substandard for BBL. Simple as that,” Ponting told Channel 7.

“The problem I’ve got with it is, the Sydney Thunder have been a struggling team, I think it’s fair to say that.

“How are you going to attract young players from around Australia, or even overseas players, to come and play at your club if they’re going to be batting on a wicket like that?

“That’s the concern I’ve got. It’s always been a really inconsistent surface.”

Agar (2-6) finished with the most economical four overs ever by a spinner in the BBL to make the most of the spicy pitch and put the hosts on the ropes.

Ashton Agar (second from right) and the Scorchers celebrate another wicket. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Agar put the squeeze on with four neat and tidy overs that included 18 dot balls and six singles in a match-defining spell.

The left-arm tweaker completed the run out of Tom Kohler-Cadmore (27) then bowled Matthew Gilkes for a duck three balls later to spark a Thunder collapse that they never recovered from.

The Scorchers’ former left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson is the only bowler to concede fewer runs from four full overs when taking 3-3 against the Melbourne Stars in 2017.

Agar matched Adam Milne as next best with six runs from his four overs, although the New Zealand pacer only claimed one scalp for the Thunder against the Adelaide Strikers in 2021.

Alex Hales celebrates his half-century for the Thunder. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Cameron Bancroft missed an opportunity to stake a late claim for a Test recall in place of David Warner when run out for a scratchy 12 off 19 balls against the Scorchers.

The 31-year-old still has 214 BBL runs for the sixth-most this season as he continues to score heavily across all formats.

Bancroft has most crucially boosted his Test hopes with 1457 Sheffield Shield runs for Western Australia over the past 18 months to be easily the top scorer in that time.

It won’t be too bittersweet for the Thunder if the opener is selected for international duty, with their BBL campaign now all but over with three matches still to play.

- with NCA Newswire