The Sydney Thunder are hoping a “jealous” David Warner will be able to emulate the feats of his Australian Test teammate Steve Smith and lift the side to victory over the Melbourne Renegades on Thursday night.
But after ‘Gades skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bat, it was the Thunder off to a horror start.
Three “disappointing” wides to start from Brendan Doggett culminated in a simple dropped catch by Nathan McAndrew five balls later.
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MATCH CENTRE:Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Renegades, scores, stats, team lists
“You can forgive one but I’m not sure you can forgive three,” Fox Cricket’s Mark Waugh said.
“Geez this is a bad start. Three wides and now a relatively easy dropped catch.
“(McAndrew) had to go to his left but he got there in plenty of time, You’ve got to take that.
“You can see the heads drop already – you don’t want that at the start of the game.”
And it only got worse still for the Thunder when Daniel Sams couldn’t find his radar from the other end as he emulated the infamous Steve Harmison Gabba shocker.
Brendan Doggett couldn’t believe his luck early.Source: FOX SPORTS
“(Laughing) they’ve both gone to fourth slip those first two!” Waugh said in disbelief.
“He was bowling on the wrong pitch for a little while.”
It took Warner to step up and send Jake Fraser-McGurk (5) packing with his safe pair of hands.
Once again, the Gades’ troubles at the top of the order showed as Fraser-McGurk’s single digit exit is the 11th for an opener in their 12 games.
Sams redeemed his horror over with a brilliant catch to dismiss dangerman Sam Harper (8 off 10) at extra cover.
It brought Finch to the crease to partner Martin Guptill at 2-33.
Warner will be looking to bounce back from his last start duck and emulate Smith who became the first player in Sixers’ history to reach triple figures.
Smith BELTS 6s in phenomenal ton | 02:10
Thunder vice-captain Alex Ross says there’s no doubt Warner would have seen what his good mate had achieved in the BBL – and hopefully can help keep the team’s finals hopes alive as they sit precariously placed in sixth.
“We saw Steve Smith make a hundred for the Sixers; we’re hoping Davey can do the same. I know he’ll feel a little jealous now,” he said.
Ross described Warner as like a “12-year-old kid running around the room” given his enthusiasm within the squad since returning after the Australian Test summer ended.
“The amount of knowledge he has, just from the broad amount of experience of games [is unbelievable]. He was talking about things in a batting meeting that no one had even heard of,” he revealed.
David: ‘It was pretty friendly…’ | 00:28
“It really was great to be exposed to that kind of experience. We walk a whole lot taller with Davey in the side, without a doubt.”
It’s been a tough few days for Warner after he came under scrutiny for his “friendly” shove on Matt Wade in his side’s loss to the Hurricanes.
Luckily the opener, who had earlier registered his first duck in his Thunder career, escaped sanction from the match review.
Warner shoves Wade in ‘demonstration’ | 01:12
The Thunder will face a fired up Renegades outfit who kept their finals hopes alive with a thrilling victory in the Melbourne derby.
But the ‘Gades still have issues at the top of the order that the Thunder will look to expose early.
Ross described Thursday night’s encounter as “crucial” for his side given the current BBL logjam after first-placed Perth and the second-placed Sixers.
The Thunder, Hurricanes and Strikers are all sitting on 10 points – just one win shy of the third placed Renegades on 12 points.
TEAMS
Thunder: Ben Cutting, Joel Davies, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green (c), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Ross Pawson, Usman Qadir, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, David Warner, Sam Whiteman.
Renegades: Aaron Finch (c), Fawad Ahmed, Matt Critchley, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Martin Guptill, Sam Harper, Mackenzie Harvey, Ruwantha Kellapotha, David Moody, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Jon Wells.
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