The Adelaide Strikers have leapt back into the BBL top five after thumping the COVID and injury-depleted Perth Scorchers by six wickets at Adelaide Oval.
After restricting the Scorchers to an inadequate 9-127, the Strikers cruised home with 18 balls to spare on Friday.
The ladder-leading Scorchers were rocked on the morning of the match when Cam Bancroft and Matt Kelly tested positive for COVID-19.
The absence of Bancroft, the Scorchers' first-choice gloveman since Josh Inglis joined Australia's Ashes Test squad, triggered an extraordinary wicketkeeping merry-go-round.
Englishman Laurie Evans was originally named as wicketkeeper but was unable to don the gloves after suffering a toe injury when he was struck by a Harry Conway yorker while batting.
That forced Chris Sabburg into a makeshift 'keeping role for the first 10 overs of the Strikers' innings before he was replaced by fourth-stringer Brayden Sepien.
Sepien, who is part of the Melbourne Renegades' bubble, was enjoying a coffee down the road before receiving a phone call at the innings break and rushing to ground to take the gloves from Sabburg.
New Adelaide import Ian Cockbain (35no) impressed in his BBL debut and fittingly struck the winning runs, while allrounder Matt Short continued his solid form as an opening batter (34) and opening bowler (1-15 off four overs).
Short and Henry Hunt (27) combined for a 52-run opening-wicket union to put the heat on the Scorchers who, aside from seamer Aaron Hardie (3-31) were unable to corral the home side.
Earlier, some disciplined bowling from the Strikers elicited a mid-innings 6-27 batting collapse from the Scorchers.
Legspinner Fawad Ahmed (3-30) and captain Peter Siddle (2-20) spearheaded the Scorchers' freefall from a commanding 2-80 nearing the halfway stage, which secured the visitors the Bash Boost point, to a dire 8-107.
Evans top-scored with 39 before holing out and hobbling off the ground soon after his toe injury.
He combined with Ashton Turner (28) for a 48-run third-wicket stand but the Scorchers skipper's downfall, attempting to launch Henry Thornton into the stands once too often, kickstarted a flurry of wickets which proved pivotal in the Strikers claiming the Jason Gillespie Trophy..
