Hales rains sixes as Thunder post record BBL score

The match in a tweet: Thunder's Hales storm brings a record-breaking runs deluge as they snap a three-game drought by swamping competition leaders and Sydney rivals

The score: Sydney Thunder 5-232 (Hales 110, Ferguson 42, Dwarshuis 3-38) beat Sydney Sixers 5-186 (Henriques 56, Sangha 2-34) by 46 runs

The points: Sydney Thunder 4, Sydney Sixers 0

The total: The Thunder's 5-232 rewrote the record for the highest BBL total, surpassing Hobart Hurricanes' 8-223 against Melbourne Renegades at Marvel Stadium in BBL|06. It was going to take something extraordinary, even from a batting line-up as strong as the Sixers', to threaten it. And the ladder leaders finished on 5-186 as the Thunder won by 46 runs to snap a three-game losing streak and surge back into the top three.

The Hales storm: It started slowly – Alex Hales played out four consecutive dot balls before scoring his first single. But the right-hander than exploded in a blizzard of ball-striking, clubbing 18 runs from the innings' second over, sent down by Steve O'Keefe. The ex-England opener reached 50 (from 26 balls) with a huge six off leg-spinner Lloyd Pope, and his century – his first in the BBL - from 51 balls included a remarkable seven sixes as well as nine fours. He gave only one half-chance, a mishit full toss that fell marginally short of Carlos Brathwaite at deep backward square leg when on 94. And in the process, he passed 1,000 runs for the Thunder, joining Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson and Callum Ferguson in that elite club. By the time he departed for 110 (off 56 balls) in the penultimate over, the Thunder were 4-213 and on track for history.

The six machine: Hales' belligerent knock that yielded eight sixes has him within striking range of the record for the most sixes in a single season of BBL. That benchmark currently belongs to Melbourne Stars' allrounder Marcus Stoinis, who blasted 28 beyond the boundary in BBL|09. With Hales sitting on 26 sixes and the Thunder to play their last two games of this campaign at Adelaide Oval, it's safe to assume – on the evidence presented tonight – that record will tumble in coming days.

The stat: Hales brought up three figures from just 51 deliveries, the third-fastest ton by a Thunder batsman behind Callum Ferguson (48 balls) and David Warner (50). Former Perth Scorchers opener Craig Simmons (39 balls) holds the all-time BBL record.

The batting paradise: Barely a month after India's vaunted batting line-up was bowled out for 36 in the first Vodafone Test, Adelaide Oval has been reborn as the best batting surface in the country. It was 24 hours earlier that Alex Carey posted the first century of BBL|10 against the Brisbane Heat as the Adelaide Strikers piled on 5-197 on Thursday night. And then Hales cut loose with impunity, hitting through the line of the ball on the exquisitely true pitch, to the extent that he barely mistimed a stroke. With three more regular season games to be played at Adelaide before the finals, expect at least another hundred in coming days.

The turning point: Even with an unprecedented total in the bank, the Thunder felt the pressure early in their bowling innings with Josh Philippe – who surrendered his BKT Golden Cap as BBL|10's leading runs scorer to Hales earlier in the evening – in ominously good form. But an inspired fielding effort from veteran Thunder captain Callum Ferguson saw Philippe's innings cut short on 20. Ferguson knocked down a forceful drive from James Vince at cover, reclaimed the ball and shaped to throw at the keeper's end before realising Philippe had backed up halfway down the pitch. Instead, he fired in a bounce-throw to Tanveer Sangha who had the bails off with Philippe centimetres short of his ground, despite a desperate dive.

The allrounder: Ben Cutting's been waiting to make a statement in his new livery since transferring from the Brisbane Heat at the start of BBL|10. The former Australia allrounder, who last played for his country in 2014, went to the wicket late in the Thunder's run blitz and clubbed 33 from 14 balls, his highest score for his new team. Just as importantly, he struck a vital blow with his first delivery of the night when he had Sixers skipper Daniel Hughes chopping on to his stumps. Cutting then completed the all-round trifecta next over with a neat sliding catch at long-off to remove Vince for 38.

The century maker: Sixers allrounder Dan Christian became the first player in a decade of the KFC BBL to notch 100 appearances when he took to Adelaide Oval, his home turf at one stage of a long and celebrated career. That's not overly surprising, given he's represented Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades and now Sydney Sixers among the 13 T20 franchises he's played for worldwide. In addition, he's enjoyed stints with New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria as well as playing 19 ODIs and 16 T20 internationals for Australia. Adelaide Strikers batter Jonathan Wells is next-most capped BBL player with 92 matches. 

The inclusion: Already clear at the top of the BBL|10 ladder, the Sixers were further boosted by the return of former skipper Moises Henriques from Australia's expanded Test squad. Henriques blasted 56 from 35 balls before being adjudged caught behind to a ball that appeared to hit his pad. The ladder leaders face a further infusion of talent when Sean Abbott – also a member of the Test squad recently returned from Brisbane – comes into selection consideration for their next game. Abbott had hoped to play in tonight's game but given the COVID19 protocols facing players coming back into the BBL player bubble, he didn’t feel he was able to complete sufficient training to be fully match ready.

The de-facto derby: The relocation of a block of matches originally scheduled for Sydney due to COVID19 restrictions meant this Sydney Smash was fought out on neutral turf. But the crowd of 2,600 who turned out on a glorious summer evening had a couple of local boys to cheer for, with ex-South Australia veteran Ferguson captaining the Thunder and rising leg spinner Pope in Sixers colours. Ferguson's familiarity with conditions shone through in his 42 (off 23 balls) but Pope had the final say, having his former Redbacks teammate caught on the mid-wicket rope.

The next stops: Already assured of a finals berth, top-of-the-table Sixers finish their regular season campaign at the MCG where they tackle the Hobart Hurricanes on Sunday and then the Melbourne Stars (Tuesday) in a re-run of last year's final. The Thunder's pursuit of a top-three finish comes down to two games against fellow finals rivals, the Adelaide Strikers, at the batter-friendly Adelaide Oval on consecutive days, on Sunday and Monday.

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