Tye, Turner put Sixers to the sword

The score: Perth Scorchers 4-136 (Ashton Turner 52 not out, Sean Abbott 3-28) def Sydney Sixers 132 (Nic Maddinson 31, Andrew Tye 4-21)

Match in a tweet: Andrew Tye collects his third hat-trick of 2017 as the Scorchers underline their depth in a comfortable victory over the Sixers. #BBL07

The hero: While Ashton Turner was the man of the match, it was hard to go past Andrew Tye, who snared just the third hat-trick in BBL history (he also achieved the feat against the Brisbane Heat in January) and his third of 2017. The 31-year-old, recognised as one of the leading death bowlers in the competition, removed Sean Abbott, Steve O’Keefe and Daniel Sams in consecutive deliveries to end the Sixers’ innings in style. Tye also took a hat-trick for the Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League in April and finished with figures of 4-21 from 3.4 overs in the Scorchers’ season-opener at the SCG.

The consolation effort: Sean Abbott, the leading wicket-taker in BBL|06, sent a scare through the Scorchers’ camp when he claimed the wickets of debutants William Bosisto and Josh Philippe and David Willey to reduce the visitors to 3-52 at the halfway mark of their innings. Abbott’s opening spell reaped 3-7 and he finished with 3-28 from 3.1 overs as he rebounded from a wicket-less match against the Sydney Thunder on Tuesday.

The victim: You had to feel for Sixers skipper and star allrounder Moises Henriques, who was caught behind for one, giving him two runs from as many innings in BBL|07.

The support cast: While the long list of Scorchers missing was well publicised, their vaunted bowling attack was in fine form, with Tye starring and Willey, Mitchell Johnson and Jhye Richardson claiming two wickets apiece. Despite the fact Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Coulter-Nile are out injured, there was no room for left-armer Joel Paris, who played two one-day internationals for Australia in January last year, underlining the Scorchers’ depth.

The debutants: With Cameron Bancroft, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Sam Whiteman and Michael Klinger also missing, the Scorchers had three debutants in wicketkeeper Josh Inglis and openers Bosisto and Philippe.

The turning point: With the Scorchers struggling to find the boundary and needing 55 to win from six overs with six wickets in hand, Turner belted 16 from one Sams over, including two maximums, to reduce the required run rate to under eight with five overs remaining. He then repeated the dose with two sixes off Abbott in the 17th over to calm any nerves. Turner finished unbeaten on 52 from 27 balls and hammered five sixes to play a key role in his team’s triumph.

The ball: Perth’s international import Willey sent down a stunning delivery to remove experienced allrounder Johan Botha in the seventh over of the Sixers’ innings. No wonder former England off-spinner Graeme Swann described the ball as an “absolute jaffa”.

The stat: Tye became just the second player in history to take three T20 hat-tricks, joining India leggie Amit Mishra.

The silly point: Hilton Cartwright had made his way to 20 from 19 balls before he presented a chance that it’s fair to say Doug Bollinger didn’t expect…

The fantasy wrap: Tye ($67,900) topped the rankings with 116 points on the back of his hat-trick, while Abbott ($94,500) finished with 109 and Turner ($62,900) 84.

The next stops: The Scorchers will next tackle the Melbourne Stars in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash at the WACA on Boxing Day, while the Sixers will tackle the Adelaide Strikers at the SCG on Friday.