Denly smashes Sixers to comfortable win at Strikers
Joe Denly carried his bat as Sydney Sixers handed Adelaide Strikers a rare home defeat in the Big Bash League on Sunday.
The visitors ran out comfortable six-wicket winners as Denly contributed 76 off 60 balls to complete the innings unbeaten and guide the Sixers to their target of 151 with 10 balls remaining.
Despite the best efforts of Jake Weatherald (50) and Jonathan Wells (42 not out), the outcome looked inevitable from the off as the Strikers failed to impress with the bat and stuttered to 150-5.
Sydney responded in steady fashion with Denly leading the way and a late partnership of 53 with Josh Philippe (30no off 15) accelerated the chase.
SIXERS WIN! @joed1986 and @joshphilippe2 get us home against @StrikersBBL with 10 balls to spare! Awesome result!
We head to Perth next Sunday before returning home to the SCG on January 16th. Get your tickets here > https://t.co/tSTSR0Tam5 #smashemsixers #BBL08 pic.twitter.com/2uEuXQzGvJ
— Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) January 6, 2019
<script></script>
MORE CAREY MISERY
Weatherald and Wells did their best to make the Strikers competitive, but there were too many costly errors from their team-mates.
The first of those came from Alex Carey, who continued a bizarre pattern of run outs this term as Moises Henriques took out the stumps.
Carey's dismissal was needless and set the tone for a tough outing. Remarkably, it was also his third run out in six innings this season.
So, that's not the ideal start...
Carey's run out for 1 as we push for a quick single
Strikers 1/1 as Ingram joins Weatherald #BlueEnergy #BBL08
— Adelaide Strikers (@StrikersBBL) January 6, 2019
<script></script>
WELLS BATTLES ON
Strikers captain Colin Ingram made just 15, but Weatherald kept Adelaide ticking over. He faltered as fellow big-hitter Wells arrived at the crease, however.
The Strikers left Rashid Khan on the sidelines as Cameron Valente instead came in at number seven, contributing 17 and combing with Wells as the home side finished relatively strongly.
Their efforts were put into stark contrast by an effective Sixers powerplay, however, as Denly and Daniel Hughes (24) immediately paired to good effect following Justin Avendano's departure. They stood at 50-1 through six overs.
We're big fans of Josh Philippe's new trick shot! #BBL08 pic.twitter.com/mSdnX4XzAh
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 6, 2019
<script></script>
SIMPLE SIXERS CHASE
There was a rocky spell in the subsequent overs, as the Strikers managed to slow their opponents and Hughes departed, while Henriques (16) and Jordan Silk (1) were then dismissed in quick succession by Khan.
But Sydney were up to 99 by the time the latter made way and Philippe stepped in to fire three fours and a maximum that helped Denly across the finish line.
It was a Philippe four that concluded the chase, with the Sixers scarcely required to break sweat on a surprisingly comfortable evening in Adelaide.