Aaron Hardie (32-ball 55) and Jhye Richardson (4/9) shined in Perth Scorchers’ comfortable 38-run victory over Sydney Sixers in their opening clash of the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2022-23 at Optus Stadium on Saturday.
Batting first, Scorchers found themselves in a spot of bother after losing five wickets for 49 in the seventh over. Before Sixers could strike further, Hardie and Ashton Agar put together a 71-run game-changing stand for the sixth wicket. Hardie smashed five fours and two sixes in his innings and finished with an impressive strike rate of 171.88. For Sixers, Bird took three scalps while conceding 26 runs.
In response, Sixers suffered a major collapse, losing their five wickets inside the PowerPlay. Jordan Silk (32-ball 41) and Hayden Kerr (35-ball 42) did form a crucial partnership of 75 runs for the sixth wicket, but the Sixers eventually got bowled out in the last over. Richardson picked up four wickets, while Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye picked up two scalps each.
During the second innings, Agar took a spectacular running catch to get rid of Silk. It all happened on the third delivery of the 18th over bowled by Matthew Kelly. The right-armer went for a slower good length ball, and Silk bent down low to smash it over the mid-wicket region.
For a moment, it appeared the white leather would fall in no man’s land, but Agar came running sideways to his right, slid across, and got both hands under the delivery to take a stunning catch.
“He’s proven time and time again how good he is with his hands in the field. Just one of those things where that sort of catch can make or break the game. And that’s why he was out there in the hotspot because he’s got the best hands,” said Richardson on Agar’s catch after the match.
Here is the video:
Ashton Agar with an AWESOME sliding grab! #BBL12 pic.twitter.com/LBp8C6tqhj
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 17, 2022
