A courageous Sydney Thunder have survived and defied injury carnage to upset Perth Scorchers in a thriller at Optus Stadium after a sickening high-impact head knock left players and a record-breaking crowd of 46,471 in shock.
West Australian Cam Bancroft and Daniel Sams were taken to hospital during the four-wicket Sydney victory with concussions and potential facial fractures after colliding in the outfield in horrifying scenes.
The collision played out like a car crash after Scorcher Cooper Connolly hit a ball high into the Perth sky, with Sams sprinting off from the in-field in pursuit.
Unbeknownst to him, Bancroft was also tearing in from the boundary rope in a desperate effort to get to the ball.
The pair hit, heads colliding together, in a staggering knock that left teammates desperately calling for medical staff.
Sams appeared to be knocked out while former Scorcher Bancroft was left on his knees, cradling his face.
Bancroft was able to walk from the ground with a bloody and possibly broken nose, but Sams needed the stretcher and medical cart.
Ollie Davies rose off his sick bed to join Under 19 World Cup-winning captain Hugh Weibgen, who was in at the end as a concussion sub for the batting innings.
The Scorchers didn’t escape unscathed; the recently returned all-rounder Aaron Hardie was unable to field after appearing to injure his side while batting in the first innings.
The injuries overshadowed a nail-biting final-over contest lit up by Finn Allen and David Warner in front of a record home-and-away Scorchers crowd.
“I thought it ebbed and flowed pretty quickly through the game and once we got Warner, I thought we were in a pretty good position but obviously Sherfane came out and hit it pretty well,” Allen said post-match.
“With the close games it’s always easy to look back on the little things, and I guess we always make mistakes here and there and it’s a close game so we nick pick; but it’s just one of those things.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way.”
Warner found a fortune early after being set a chase of 178, dropped on a duck after slapping a difficult chance back at Jason Behrendorff.
Lance Morris wasn’t offering any chances, trapping Blake Nikitaras lbw with his first ball.
Morris welcomed Matthew Gilkes with a delivery at 148.9km/h before the Thunder batter was put down by Hurst, diving to his left for a tough chance.
Behrendorff’s hands were on his head as the next delivery flew into the stands and the one after that to the rope.
Warner made much of the early play for the visitors, riding his luck as the Thunder marched to 1-85 after 10 overs.
Connolly was left with an unfortunate match-up bowling to the two left-handers, but responded to being dropped over the rope for a maximum by capturing Gilkes’ wicket stumped on 43.
The wicket allowed Turner to apply the screws before Warner pulled the trigger on the power surge.
But the Scorchers were the first to pounce, Allen completing a one-handed blinder to dismiss Davies.
Warner himself was out in the next over for 49, hitting Morris to Hobson in the deep.
Billings looked ready to take the game away from the home side but found out just how unlucky 13 is as the run rate climbed.
Rutherford was stuck at the non-strikers as the Thunder needed 23 off nine, Weibgen thrown into the deep end against Behrendorff.
He found a six from the last ball of the penultimate over to leave 15 needed from six bowls.
A tough chance went begging first ball as Rutherford was dropped before a nick through third man reduced the margin to nine runs.
It came down to Sydney needing three from the last ball to win, Rutherford’s inside edge delivering a match-winning boundary, sparking jubilant scenes from the Thunder bench.
Allen got the best of his all-Kiwi battle with Lockie Ferguson after the Scorchers were asked to bat first, taking his second over for 15, including a towering maximum.
Scorchers fans had needed some convincing after Allen’s disastrous start, but as Thunder keeper Sam Billings dropped an extremely difficult chance, running back with the flight, a pumping furnace was well and truly on his side.
Perth’s best opening partnership, 61 runs, was broken as Chris Green got a short ball to stick in the wicket, Matt Hurst chunking a high-ball to Warner.
Flying at eight runs an over at the halfway stage, 200 was on the cards for the home side.
Allen reached his 50 off 24 deliveries, shaking down West Indian all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford for 22 in an over.
But the party came to an end on 68, another Green long-hop sticking in the pitch as Allen hauled out at deep mid-wicket.
Green was on a hattrick as Ashton Turner struck his first ball straight to cover.
Nick Hobson survived the pressure ball before launching into a counterattack.
Connolly didn’t miss a beat after the delay for Sams and Bancroft, sending the next ball to the rope before climbing into Wes Agar with two maximums to end the power surge and bring the run rate near nine an over.
Sydney fought admirably to stem the tide, hitting wide yorkers and cramping Perth’s left-handers for room.
However, the raw power of Connolly and Hobson still pushed the home side to 4-177.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au