Cooper Connolly blasted a crucial half-century to lead Perth to a five-wicket win over Sydney Sixers in a rain-affected clash
Match Report:
ScorecardConnolly stars as Scorchers down Sixers in Babar's BBL debut
Star Sydney Sixers recruit Babar Azam missed out in his highly-anticipated Big Bash debut as reigning player of the tournament, Cooper Connolly, lifted Perth Scorchers to a five-wicket win in the KFC BBL|15 season opener at Optus Stadium.
Lightning and heavy rain in Perth reduced Sunday's match to an 11-overs-a-side clash, with the Sixers posting 5-113 on the back of an unbeaten 46 off 21 balls from Jack Edwards.
Pakistan superstar Azam made just two – and he was lucky not to get out on two occasions before that – as the Sixers slumped to 4-41 before Edwards and Josh Philippe (28 off 18) launched a rescue mission.
In reply, the Scorchers reached the victory target in 10.1 overs on the back of Connolly's 59 off 31 balls, with his knock featuring five sixes and three fours.
The stadium's lights flickered numerous times as the electrical storm gathered intensity. Huge puddles formed on the turf as more than 15mm of rain fell within the space of an hour.
Play eventually began 80 minutes after the originally-slated start time, but it wasn't pretty early for the Sixers.
Azam was almost caught on two occasions before he even got off the mark - the first a flat-batted shot that just floated over Laurie Evans at mid-on, the second an aerial whack over mid-off that landed between two fielders.
His luck ran out next ball when he flat-batted Brody Couch (2-12) down the ground for an easy catch.
Edwards cracked six fours and two sixes to guide Sydney to a competitive total.
Connolly, who shared the BBL player-of-the-season award with Glenn Maxwell last campaign, kept his cool and ensured the required run rate never got out of hand.
He eventually holed out in the deep with just nine runs needed for victory, but the 26,823-strong crowd were already in party mode by that stage with the win effectively secured.
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SCO
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.235 | 0 | 2 |
|
2
STR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
3
HEA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
4
HUR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
5
REN
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
6
STA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
THU
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
SIX
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.235 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points