Thunder too strong in Sydney derby

The match in a tweet: Thunder claim bragging rights in #SydneySmash. Buttler blasts half-century, before spinners put icing on Christmas Eve cake.

The score: Sydney Thunder 9-169 (Buttler 63, Sams 28; Curran 3-24) defeated Sydney Sixers 9-148 (Curran 62, Abbott 35, Fawad 3-33; Sams 3-30) by 21 runs.

The hero: There aren't many better T20 batsmen in the world to watch at full flight than Englishman Jos Buttler. The 28-year-old showed glimpses at the Thunder during BBL|07 and his performance against the Sixers on Monday night shows he's in for another good tournament this time around. Buttler produced some superb power hitting to smash three sixes and six fours during his 37-ball innings of 63. It set the platform for the Thunder early and allowed them to post an above par score that the Sixers never seriously threatened.

The supporting cast: The careers of Fawad Ahmed and Jono Cook are miles apart, with one having played cricket all over the world and one just starting up. But the pair certainly turned it on for the Thunder with a total of four wickets between them in the Sydney derby. Fawad picked up two wickets in his first over to help reduce the Sixers to 5-39 after six overs, before trapping Josh Philippe plumb in front in his next over. Cook, in his first Big Bash game, did plenty of the donkey work during the Sixers' powerplay, picking up the valuable scalp of Jack Edwards and bowling economically to finish with impressive figures of 1-17 from four overs. That's a decent debut by anyone's standard. Another spinner - veteran Chris Green - then finished the deal as he picked up the valuable wicket of Tom Curran in the penultimate over of the game.

The consolation act: A brave counter-attack from Tom Curran and Sean Abbott gave the Sixers a late sniff of victory and almost pulled off the impossible, with the duo putting on an excellent partnership of 88 for the seventh wicket. The pair came together at 6-56 and batted for 10 overs to leave the Sixers requiring 26 from the final over. With the pair watching on from the sidelines and the tail exposed, that was to prove too difficult for the Sixers, with the Thunder holding on for a much deserved victory.

The internationals: It was a mixed bag for the overseas contingent in the Sydney derby, with the four English players participating producing a variety of individual results. Buttler starred with his quickfire 63, while Curran performed well with the ball to finish with 3-24 for the Sixers. He also contributed 62 with the bat that almost brought his team back into the contest. His teammate in magenta, fellow Englishman Joe Denly, failed to fire with the bat and was out for just one, while Test captain Joe Root had a game he's rather forget. Root managed nine runs for the Sixers, but probably even more embarrassing was the run out of Callum Ferguson that he played a part in. While it was probably Root's call, there are always question marks raised when both players finish up at the same end and the bails are whipped off at the opposing end. 

The stat: During the early years of the Big Bash it was the Sixers that dominated the Sydney derby, but that has certainly turned around in recent times. The Thunder failed to beat the Sixers during the first four renditions of the Big Bash, but have since made up for that stat by claiming bragging rights over their cross-town rivals by winning five of the most recent seven contests.

The next stop: The Sixers remain in Sydney and take on the winless Melbourne Stars in their next match on Thursday December 27, while the Thunder travel to Adelaide to battle it out against the Strikers on New Years Eve.