Sydney Thunder 158 for 7 (Konstas 53, Andrews 37*, Morris 3-43) won Perth Scorchers 97 (Hardie 22, Green 3-13, McAndrew 2-21) by 61 runs
BBL powerhouse Scorchers need a miracle to reach the finals after suffering a fourth consecutive defeat.
Konstas dismisses, Andrews provides late boost
On a surface known for being slow and favoring spin, Konstas and fellow opener David Warner decided to take their chances against the new ball.
They smashed 36 runs in the first three overs and Warner set the tone with an early hit over the frame before being bowled by Konstas.
Konstas mixed elegant strokes with his trademark inventiveness to race to 28 off 12 balls, but Warner’s dismissal in the last over of the powerplay led to a collapse.
Konstas couldn’t find the strike as the Thunder hitters struggled mightily on a surface that began to become difficult to hit on. They didn’t score a boundary for almost 10 overs until Konstas deftly reverse-swept Connolly’s left-arm spin for a boundary.
He finished the innings with six in a final over that cost 25 runs, the most expensive of veteran Jason Behrendorff’s T20 career.
Beardman debuts, twist takes over
The Scorchers’ final hopes have been dealt a blow after Jhye Richardson’s latest injury setback ended their BBL season.
He had a tough start in the BBL, coming on the attack in the third against Konstas and Warner. Beardman hopes to one day emulate Morris and throw at 150 km/h, but he can already produce significant pace around 140 km/h.
Beardman was under siege against a rampaging Australia Under-19 teammate Konstas, who used his feet superbly to play a slower delivery down the ground for six.
Connolly, whose bowling is slowly progressing, was Sam Billings extremely accurate and clean to finish with 1 for 16 in 4 overs. It was a tonic after Connolly was not named in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad.
Morris recovered from a late start to claim three wickets with fiery bowling that touched close to 150 km/h. But Turner rued not having removed Spoors, who still had two overs left, with Morris and Behrendorff crushed at the death.
Sangha returns in favorable conditions
Green claimed a couple of late wickets to finish with 3-13 in 4 overs, while Andrews capped an excellent all-round match with the wicket of Nick Hobson.
Hardie’s struggles continue
All-rounder Hardie started the day with good news after being selected for Australia’s Champions Trophy squad despite a modest season in the BBL playing as a specialist batsman.
He reached the crease in the second over after the wicket of Finn Allen. Disaster struck when Fanning was left without a batter on the non-striker’s side after Hardie had initially called for a single before changing his mind.
The run seemed to rattle Hardie, who was nervous at the crease before smashing consecutive sixes down the leg side off the quick Nathan McAndrew. But he was soon bowled at 22, which was Scorchers’ top score, leading to a collapse.
The Scorchers’ disastrous performance was summed up when Connolly, their leading batsman this season, was left without attempting a second run after a direct delivery from Hugh Weibgen at midwicket.
Turner, who has rescued his team many times before, holed out meekly as Scorchers look almost certain to miss the final for the third time in BBL history.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
