Star Sydney Thunder opener David Warner insists his side can still make an impact on BBL finals after jumping into the top five with a win against the Melbourne Renegades on Thursday night at Manuka Oval.
A stylish 74 not out from Matthew Gilkes clinched the comfortable eight-wicket win for the Thunder, relatively untroubled chasing down the Renegades’ 9-142 with nine balls to spare.
The win moved the Thunder to fourth on the table with just two regular-season games left, while the third-placed Renegades will still likely need another win to punch their tickets to finals.
Warner, who’ll depart the team for Australia’s tour of India before the finals, said he’d seen enough to be convinced the Thunder wouldn’t just be making up the numbers.
He was full of praise for Gilkes, who hit eight fours and a six in his 55-ball innings.
“The way Gilkesy took it on and (Alex Ross) Rossy came out and played his game was really, really good,” he said.
“Just to see Gilkesy go out there and finish it in a mature fashion was fantastic … from a batting perspective, we did really well and our bowlers were outstanding.
“There were a lot of false shots from the Renegades but we bowled well to make those and create those chances which was great.”
Set 143 for victory, Warner (29) and Ollie Davies (0) fell in consecutive balls to leave the Thunder 2-57, but a disastrous Fawad Ahmed drop cost debutant spinner Corey Rocchiccioli a third wicket three balls later and massively let the “home” team off the hook.
Rocchiccioli, who finished with 2-23, saw a fair degree of irony in the dropped catch coming off his bowling.
“Three months ago I dropped Peter Handscomb on 51, and he made 281 not out, so if anyone knows how it feels I do,” he told reporters.
“We’ve just got to keep looking at what we need to do better.
“Catches win matches, but at the end of the day … we’re all going to drop them, everyone drops them.”
It was Gilkes’ second half-century of the tournament, having hit 56 not out in December against the Brisbane Heat.
After winning the toss and batting, the Renegades posted 9-142 after Will Sutherland’s 41 off 22 balls saved them from a disastrous total.
Martin Guptill carved 30 off 27 and captain Aaron Finch chipped in with 22, but both failed to turn their starts into a big score as the Renegades struggled.
Spinner Usman Qadir (2-20) starred with two vital wickets, including the big scalp of Finch just as he looked set to get his side into the game.
Sutherland’s late fireworks that helped the Renegades take 26 off their final over were much-needed, after a nine-over stretch that included just two boundaries.
There’ll be some alarm bells ringing for the Renegades, having lost two of their last three games heading into finals with the win requiring a last-minute capitulation by the Melbourne Stars.
