Cricket world stunned by 'absurd' moment in thrilling BBL season opener

Cricket fans were treated to an absolute thriller in the BBL season opener on Tuesday night as the Sydney Thunder beat the Melbourne Stars via four byes on the final delivery. With the Thunder needing one run to win off the final ball, Gurinder Sandhu swung and missed and Brendan Doggett attempted to scamper through for a bye.

However Stars wicketkeeper Joe Clarke had a horror moment, missing the ball completely and letting it go for four byes. Clarke appeared not to see the ball, or was thinking about throwing at the stumps before actually catching it.

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Either way, the extraordinary moment saw the Thunder win by one wicket in a thrilling start to the 12th edition of the BBL. After the Thunder lost their last established batter in Chris Green for 17 on the first ball of the final over, Sandhu (20 not out) belted a six over deep mid-wicket to level the scores.

"I just wanted to keep it really simple, stay still, watch the ball, just react after that ... when you talk to batsmen, that's when they bat their best," Sandhu told reporters after the game.

"We didn't want to force it because we knew we had that one over of Beau (Webster) ... we just said if it's in your zone then smack it. It's a good way to start and hopefully it sets the tone for the Big Bash."

The Stars' loss was compounded by a hamstring injury to batter Joe Burns, who along with Marcus Stoinis played in the match despite testing positive for Covid-19. Both were permitted to play at Manuka Oval in accordance with relaxed biosecurity rules introduced this summer.

Burns pulled up sore while running between wickets and after retiring hurt three overs later, was sent for scans on his hamstring. Coming in once Burns made way, Stoinis was out for a golden duck, caught at short fine leg trying to slog-sweep Green.

Nick Larkin top-scored for Melbourne with 25. But from the 12th over onwards the Stars hit only two boundaries as they finished their 20 overs on 8-122.

Trent Boult makes sparkling debut in BBL

In his long-awaited debut in the BBL, veteran New Zealand star Trent Boult took two wickets in three balls in the Thunder's first over. Boult had Matt Gilkes caught by emergency fielder Brody Couch, who juggled the ball four times before taking a contender for catch of the year on the ground at short fine leg.

On Boult's next delivery, Riley Rossouw was caught by Nathan Coulter-Nile in the slips and the Thunder had lost two wickets without scoring a run. Green and Sandhu needed 15 from the final two overs, and when the latter slogged Luke Wood to long-on for four, the Thunder had a sniff.

A second classic catch from Couch in the deep sent Green on his way and the Stars thought they were home. But Sandhu's late heroics and a final-ball mishap got the Thunder over the line.

"He's just a world-class bowler," Stars captain Adam Zampa said of Boult. "He was so good to have out there, to bounce ideas off. He's just so clear with what he wanted which is what you need as a captain. I love having him in the team."

Zampa said he enjoyed captaining the side in the absence of the injured Glenn Maxwell. "I enjoy the pressure of it, that's when I'm at my best, when I'm up for the fight," he said. "I won't back away from that and I didn't feel any more pressure. I actually had a lot of fun doing it."

with AAP

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