Left Arm Around

A retiring Stephen O’Keefe stars with three wickets as Sydney Sixers defeat Sydney Thunder by 19 runs at the SCG.

Sydney Thunder captain Chris Green won the bat flip and opted to field- his decision very quickly vindicated as Steve Smith pulled the first ball of the match into the hands of Nathan McAndrew on the deep-wicket boundary.

The in-form James Vince and Josh Philippe then combined for a well-made 59-run partnership, however Vince departed for a run-a-ball 27 when Toby Gray bowled him for a moment to remember on his BBL debut.

Jordan Silk briefly threatened with 35, alongside 47 from Philippe, but yet another tight spell from the highly-touted Tanveer Sangha (2-23) and pace bowler Nathan McAndrew (2-17) restricted the hosts with wickets falling at regular intervals.

They ended their innings on 151-7 after Ben Dwarshuis clattered the penultimate ball of the innings for six over mid-wicket; the Sixers clawing some useful momentum going into their bowling effort.

Alex Hales and the returning David Warner got off to a flier as Hales crunched a number of powerful boundaries through the infield; the pair combining for a 44-run partnership in 4.2 overs.

Hales was then bowled by O’Keefe for an explosive yet short-lived 27, though none of the remaining Thunder batters were able to find timing and fluency as the Sixers’ spinners strangled them during the middle and latter phases of the innings.

Bancroft, Kohler-Cadmore, Sams, Green and McAndrew all fell for single-digit scores in a timid batting display as they finished 132 all out.

Stephen O’Keefe was the pick of the bowlers with 3-13 from his 4 overs, Ben Dwarshuis collected 1-17 and Todd Murphy was impressive yet wicketless in his spell of 0-15 from 3 overs.

Victory leaves Syndey Sixers second in the table with 12 points from 9 fixtures, securing their place in the end of season play-offs.

Their cross-city rivals, however, sit seventh with just 1 win from 8 games.

They play their penultimate game of the season against Adelaide Strikers at Manuka Oval on Sunday.