Image Credit- Getty
Captain Matt Short of the Adelaide Strikers defeated
the Sydney Thunder with a strong innings to lead his team to the BBL finals.
At Manuka Oval on Sunday night, Short struck a
magnificent 74 not out to help Strikers chase Thunder’s 140 with nine wickets
and 23 balls remaining in order to secure a spot in the top four.
After winning four straight games, they will play
either the Sydney Sixers or the Perth Scorchers in an elimination final.
The Strikers had a great bowling performance
spearheaded by legspinner Lloyd Pope (4-22) and fast Jamie Overton (3-26),
whose consistent wicket-taking prevented Thunder from establishing a lead in a
halting innings.
Short, on the other hand, was unstoppable as soon as
he strolled into the middle, displaying the kind of form that has allowed him
to smash six half-centuries in nine innings.
Because of his extreme dominance, Short hit two
massive sixes out of the Manuka Oval zone. Jake Weatherald, batting third, was
also very impressive, hitting four sixes in his undefeated 47.
Short praised his team’s ability to hit their straps
at the pointy-end of the competition.
“We made it pretty hard for ourselves the last
few games obviously having to win the last four or five to keep our hopes
alive,” he told reporters. “Very happy with the boys, we hit form at
the right time and I’m looking forward to next week. We were at the bottom of
the ladder at some stage there, to turn that around and get the wins and make
the finals, it’s a real credit to the boys.”
“I’ve always put a big emphasis on starting the
tournament well, getting a bit of momentum early on and rolling through, which
I think I did pretty well,” he said. “The challenge was to sustain
that which I haven’t in the last couple of years, I’ve finished tournaments
pretty poorly. I’m pretty proud of being able to go on with the tournament and
the start I had.”