Warner lauds Thunder response after 'difficult' moment

David Warner has praised the resilience of Sydney Thunder side to be able to shift their focus back to cricket following a sickening collision between teammates Cameron Bancroft and Daniel Sams.

Led by Sherfane Rutherford's late heroics, Warner's Thunder pulled off a miracle final ball win over Perth Scorchers in the game of the KFC BBL|14 season so far.

The Thunder looked down and out needing almost 11 runs an over when Rutherford arrived at the crease in the 14th over before the Guyanese left-hander steered them to victory with 39 not out from 19 balls, which included taking 16 runs from Andrew Tye's last over.

The chances of the Thunder pulling off victory were even more remote when they started their batting innings with both opener Bancroft and hard-hitting allrounder Sams subbed out of the match with concussion.

The pair collided while running at high speed from opposite directions in a bid to catch Cooper Connolly's skied shot during Perth's innings at Optus Stadium on Friday night.

One of the concussion replacements – Australia's Under-19 World Cup-winning skipper Hugh Weibgen – was at the crease when winning runs were scored and smashed the final ball of the penultimate over high over midwicket for six to reduce the equation to 15 from six balls.

"It was difficult seeing two players knocked out like that," Warner said post-match on Fox Cricket.

"One of our opening batters and one of our best allrounders.

"It's always a challenge to have that chat with the guys (to get their) minds focused back on cricket.

"I just liked the way the guys fought back; the Scorchers could have really got away and got well over 200.

"The (collision) was obviously quite nasty but we got the group together just after it happened and we just said, 'look, we've got to lift for the boys. We've got to leave that to the side at the moment and then we'll get back to them after'.

"They were in our thoughts and (the win) just means a lot to this group.

"Coming over here, (the Scorchers) are such a formidable force at their fortress and 46,000, a credit to the crowd, an absolutely amazing atmosphere.

"This is the first time I've played (Big Bash) over here and I absolutely loved it."

Warner revealed Weibgen – who made his BBL debut when he was subbed into the contest – was close to playing when Ollie Davies – the second concussion replacement – was a late out due to illness.

"He's going to have a bright future that kid," the veteran opener said of Weibgen, who finished nine not out from six balls.

Both Sams and Bancroft will be released from Royal Perth Hospital on Saturday afternoon with Thunder general manager Trent Copeland confirming Bancroft had a fractured right scapula and nose and was likely to miss the rest of the season.

Sams, who initially appeared "worse for wear", had been cleared of any fractures by a CT scan but Copeland said he would miss at least the next 12 days (the Thunder's next four matches) due to Cricket Australia concussion protocols.

Copeland said last night's win had "galvanised the group" and lauded the leadership of Warner, Sam Billings and Chris Green to get everyone together following the incident.

"Davey's been leading the charge since the moment his leadership ban was lifted, and he's been exceptional," Copeland said today.

"The character of the group to not only withstand what was happening to two of their really good mates on the ground, but to then come back into the contest.

"When you come through a match like that and win it, I think the group will grow closer together.

"To add another layer, Ollie Davies had a virus and was at the hospital himself during the day.

"He saw what had happened, checked himself out, gets his kit on and bats in the match.

"That's what this club is all about.

"Hopefully we take the positives out of it, albeit among some not ideal circumstances, but the good news is both boys are OK."

The four-wicket win lifted the Thunder to second place after five matches with the squad – minus Bancroft and Sams – flying direct to Brisbane from Perth for their next fixture against the Heat at the Gabba on Monday.

KFC BBL|14 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Sydney Sixers Men SIX	6	4	1	0	1	0.228	0	9
2 Sydney Thunder Men THU	5	4	1	0	0	0.309	0	8
3 Hobart Hurricanes Men HUR	5	4	1	0	0	-0.154	0	8
4 Perth Scorchers Men SCO	6	3	3	0	0	0.785	0	6
5 Brisbane Heat Men HEA	6	2	3	0	1	-0.727	0	5
6 Melbourne Renegades Men REN	6	2	4	0	0	0.413	0	4
7 Adelaide Strikers Men STR	7	2	5	0	0	-0.299	0	4
8 Melbourne Stars Men STA	7	2	5	0	0	-0.531	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points