Gayle fails again for Thunder

HOBART, Tasmania, CMC – West Indies Twenty20 star Chris Gayle failed again to extend his poor run of form as his Sydney Thunder remained winless in the Australian Big Bash here Saturday.

The left-hander, one of the most prized batsmen in international Twenty20, scored just 13 to set the tone for Thunder’s batting meltdown, paving the way for a 30-run defeat to Hobart Hurricanes at Bellerive Oval.
Sent in, Hobart tallied 177 for four with former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting hitting a top score of 63 from 45 balls.

In reply, Gayle and Mike Cosgrove (19) put on 30 off 27 balls, before the innings plunged into a tailspin, eventually leaving Sydney short at 147 for nine. Gayle faced 14 balls and lashed one six – a massive pull off left-arm seamer Doug Bollinger – before top-edging a swing at another short ball in the next over from seamer Evan Gulbis, and falling to a catch at mid-on. The Jamaican has now managed just 33 runs from his three innings since his arrival. He also struggled on West Indies’ recent tour of Bangladesh, eking out 78 runs from six limited overs matches. Thunder, meanwhile, have now lost all four of their matches in the 2012 campaign. At the Adelaide Oval, Kieron Pollard was all but a spectator as his Adelaide Strikers convincingly beat fellow Trinidadian Sunil Narine’s Sydney Sixers by nine wickets.

Choosing to bat, Sixers posted 135 for six with Pollard’s solitary over going for 15 runs.
Narine then sent down four overs for 27 runs as Strikers coasted to their target with 25 deliveries to spare.