Turner, bowlers hammer Sydney Thunder

Ashton Turner smashed 99* off 41 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, leading the Perth Scorchers to a dominant 71-run victory over Sydney Thunder. The win lifted Scorchers to third place, while Thunder fell to the bottom after their fourth loss in five matches.

Scorchers started poorly, losing three wickets in the PowerPlay. Turner revived the innings with a 76-run partnership off 41 balls with Cooper Connolly, highlighted by a 22-run over from Chris Green where Turner hit three sixes and a four. Turner reached a 22-ball fifty as Scorchers passed 100 in the 12th over.

After Connolly and Laurie Evans fell quickly, Turner added 52 runs off 28 balls with Aaron Hardie to accelerate in the death overs. Hardie’s 28 off 16 included five fours, with four coming in a 18-run 17th over against Nathan McAndrew. Daniel Sams’ next over went for 17 runs as Scorchers surged toward 200. Reece Topley removed Hardie in the 19th over, but Turner responded with a four and a six. He hit two sixes off the first two balls of the 20th over from Sams, who took late wickets to limit Scorchers to 202/8. The team scored 74 runs off the last 30 balls.

In reply, Thunder’s chase began with a six from David Warner, but the target proved too steep. Warner and Matthew Gilkes put on 60 off 40 balls, but both openers fell shortly after the PowerPlay. Thunder collapsed from 81/2 in the 10th over to 112/8 in the 15th, eventually bowled out for 131 in the 18th over. Cooper Connolly, Brody Couch, Joel Paris, and Aaron Hardie each took two wickets.

Brief Scores: Perth Scorchers 202/8 in 20 overs (Ashton Turner 99*, Aaron Hardie 28; Daniel Sams 4-51, Reece Topley 2-34) beat Sydney Thunder 131 in 17.3 overs (Matthew Gilkes 33; Cooper Connolly 2-26, Brody Couch 2-28, Joel Paris 2-28, Aaron Hardie 2-7) by 71 runs.