'They keep doing this': Warner unable to rescue Thunder at Manuka sell-out

Not even a quick-fire 13 off 10 from obvious fan favourite David Warner was enough to help the men in green as they were beaten by Adelaide by nine wickets, easily chasing Sydney's 140-run total.

A heartbreaking Cameron Bancroft run-out decided by mere centimetres highlighted the Thunder's woes, where they haven't won a match since before Christmas.

"The Thunder keep doing this - playing well, then they make errors," Mark Waugh said on Fox Sports' commentary.

"He's had a rough week," Brett Lee added, referencing Bancroft missing out on Australian squad selection as Warner's replacement atop the batting order.

Thunder openers Alex Hales and Warner bashed 36 entertaining runs with four fours and a six at a sold-out Manuka Oval before the wheels quickly fell off.

Warner was first to go, top-edging to be caught on the boundary by Darcy Short. Bancroft followed after a superb run-out effort at mid-on by Thomas Kelly, to leave the Thunder at 2/69.

Oliver Davies and Hales weren't far behind on the way to the sheds, with the latter dismissed seven runs short of his half century, edging a fiercely turning Cameron Boyce delivery.

Alex Ross contributed 16 and Alex Gilkes 18 runs, while Adelaide spinner Lloyd Pope found himself on a hat-trick after bowling Thunder captain Chris Green for 19 and Nathan McAndrew for a duck.

Pope didn't convert the hat-trick but on the last ball of the over he did get Liam Hatcher chopping on, before Tanveer Sangha was cheaply run-out with four balls left in the innings.

Losing eight wickets for only 65 runs saw the Thunder stumble to a total of 140. Sydney needed a phenomenal bowling performance on a batsman-friendly Manuka pitch to come out on top.

The cricket gods weren't on their side though.

Warner dropped what would be a cracking, leaping catch off the first bowl, Matt Short hit a handful of sixes over the Bob Hawke Stand in a handy partnership with D'Arcy Short, and Thunder bowler McAndrew incredibly grazed the top of the stumps without being rewarded a wicket.

It wasn't until the sixth over that Sydney finally got a breakthrough with Sangha bowling D'Arcy Short.

Next man up for Adelaide Jake Weatherald (47 not-out) wasn't going anywhere though, sticking around with Matt Short (74 not-out) to comfortably surpass the Thunder's total.

"It was frustrating," Hales said. "It's one of those years where little moments don't happen for us, but we can't make excuses, we just have to be better.

"The fact this is a sell-out shows the people of Canberra love having us here and we'd love to perform better for them."

The win for the Strikers secured their spot in the BBL finals, while the Thunder's remote chances of a title push were already gone before the first over.

ADELAIDE STRIKERS 1/141 bt SYDNEY THUNDER 140 (nine wickets)