Sydney Thunder notched up their first victory of BBL|13 after an impressive all-round performance against the Melbourne Stars in Albury.
After being asked to field first, Thunder restricted the hosts to 172 all out, Daniel Sams the pick of the bowlers with 4-33.
That included a remarkable end to the Stars’ innings, in which Sams himself took three wickets and Cameron Bancroft ran out Mark Steketee to complete a double hat-trick (four wickets in four balls). Zaman Khan also chipped in with 3-24 from his four overs.
In reply, Alex Hales (40 from 26) and Cameron Bancroft (30 from 20) got the chase off to a commanding start.
Despite regular wickets falling, each Thunder batter scored more than 10, with Sams (22*) and Nathan McAndrew (13*) completing the five-wicket victory with ten balls to spare.
View the full scorecard here.
Chris Green’s men now break for Christmas before travelling to Brisbane on Wednesday 27 December to take on the Heat. They then return home to face the Sydney Sixers on Saturday 30 December, a fixture which you can secure tickets for here.