Sydney Thunder triumph in final-ball thriller against Scorchers

The Sydney Thunder clinched a final-ball victory over the Perth Scorchers on Friday night in Perth, improving to second on the BBL table as a result.

Big Bash bookmakers had the match neck-and-neck ahead of the first ball, with Perth holding a slight edge in cricket betting odds, $1.73 to $1.91 at BetOnline.

The home side looked to have done enough in front of a record crowd when they posted an impressive 4/177 off the back of two strong opening partnerships and a powerful finish.

Matty Hurst (23 from 23) and Finn Allen (68 from 31) put on 61 runs for the first wicket, before Allen added a further 41 runs alongside Aaron Hardie (10 from 17) for the second.

At 1/102 after 11 overs, Perth Scorchers were well-placed to kick on and make a big score.

Three quick wickets swung the momentum back in Sydney’s favour, with Chris Green troubling the hosts as he took 3/20.

However, an energetic rear-guard from Cooper Connolly (43 from 31) and Nick Hobson (21 from 17) meant Perth ended with a respectable total, putting on 67 runs for the fifth wicket.

In response, the Thunder lost opener Blake Nikitaras (1 from 2) early, but then surged to 1/92 thanks to knocks form David Warner (49 from 33) and Matthew Gilkes (43 from 36).

After a patch of middle-order wickets, Sherfane Rutherford (39 from 19) and Hugh Weibgen (9 from 6) then took Sydney over the finish line, with the former striking a boundary on the final ball to win it.

“First of all, I want to thank God for this opportunity,” Rutherford said after winning player of the match.

“Playing in Australia is always a privilege.

“It was a bit nervy for me to be honest, even though I’ve been in this situation a few times.

“The way my tournament started wasn’t the best, so I think it was just important for me to get it across the line tonight.

“I think that was our plan as a team, you know, to just silence the crowd.

“We know they were against us.

“So it’s always good to silence them and I think we did that well tonight.”

The Thunder have now won three matches in a row, and improve to eight points on the BBL table, just behind table-toppers the Sydney Sixers who sit on nine points.

Next up, they play the Brisbane Heat on Monday, with a chance to go top of the table should they prevail.

Marantelli Bet have them at $2.02 to do so, marginal underdogs compared to the Heat’s odds of $1.80 to win.

Sports news