BBL 5 Match 1 Review: Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers, Hussey and Russell wins the Sydney derby for Thunders

The opening encounter of BBL 5 turned out to be an eventful one between the two Sydney sides. Sydney Thunder’s registered a comfortable win over the Sixers, courtesy an entertaining knock by Mr. Cricket, Michael Hussey while the chasers were floored without much fight.

The day started on a bright note with firecrackers all around the park. Hussey won the toss for Sydney Thunder and decided to bat first. Opener Jacques Kallis set the ball rolling by smashing a boundary in the second ball of the first over from Jackson Bird while Aiden Blizzard made it 13 at the end of first over in style.

The party ended shortly as Doug Bollinger trapped Blizzard in front to check the scorecard at 18/1. Michael Hussey and Kallis took the game from there on and added 30 more runs before Kallis teased a short and wide delivery from Abbott and ended up losing his wicket.

Shane Watson was dropped by Michael Lumb at mid-off, but the Thunders couldn’t cash in, as Nathan Lyon castled Watson’s stump in the very next over. Wickets kept tumbling at one end but “Mr. Cricket” went about his business at the other. He pulled Bollinger and found the gap at ease on other occasions. He brought up the first half century of BBL 5 by tapping the ball for a couple and smacked the next one from Abbott over the deep midwicket for a maximum.

56 runs came in the last 5 overs; with Bird, Abbott and Bollinger going over 8 runs per over. Ben Rohrer’s 20-ball 30 did help the Thunders, but it was Hussey, who towered a six on the last ball of the innings to remain unbeaten on 80 from 59 balls to take his team to 158.

Chasing 159, Sixers got off to a shaky start, first, Chris Green trapped Brad Haddin on the middle stump but he was extremely lucky to carry on and then the same batter made it to the crease as the third umpire looked pretty convinced. It was the third ball of the third over when Haddin got a ripper from the Jamaica man Andre Russel, which castled his stumps to see his back.

Two overs later, it was Russell again who found Nic Maddinson’s stick to restrict the Sixers to 37/2. The Thunders turned out to be too good for sixers, as they lost 6 wickets for 48 runs in no time. Lumb was not happy with his decision while Ryan Carters was deceived in flight.

Jackson Bird and Bollinger tried to entertain the crowd with some nasty hits, but it was too little too late. The Sixers were finally packed for 122 in the penultimate ball of the innings, as Thunders registered a convincing win. Russell was the pick of the bowlers, grabbing 3 wickets for 13 runs while Watson finished with the same figures after rolling his arm for a couple of overs.

Brief Score:

Sydney Thunder – 158/4 in 20 overs (Hussey 80*; Lawford 1-12)

Sydney Sixers – 122 in 19.5 overs (Lumb 34; Russell 3/13)

Sydney Thunder won by 36 runs

Man of the Match: Michael Hussey (Sydney Thunder)

Watch: Andre Russell celebrates double wickets with a unique celebration in BBL 5