Friday's humbling at the Sydney Showground Stadium came at the hands of the Adelaide Strikers, who had briefly been concerned their 139-9 would come under threat.
Instead, it turned into a rout as the Thunder made a shocking start and failed to recover, with Brendan Doggett their top scorer with four runs, hitting the only boundary of the innings.
Doggett was the last man out as the home team were dismissed in 5.5 overs, with paceman Henry Thornton completing bowling figures of 5-3 in 2.5 overs. Fellow quick Wes Agar weighed in with 4-6 from two overs.
Thornton suggested he might as well retire on the back of his five-wicket feat in the 124-run victory, because he would never top the experience.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS, Thornton said: "I honestly cannot believe what just happened. Everyone here probably doesn't know what's going on either.
"It was amazing. We thought they bowled really well, considering what the wicket was doing, and we thought if we hung in there long enough we'd create chances.
"That's unbelievable. We thought if we bowled at the top of the stumps... we'd be in the game.
"We're really happy. I'm really happy for Wes, he bowled really well tonight, super disciplined, and yeah, great performance.
"Honestly, I'm shocked, I can't believe it."
Thunder openers Alex Hales and Matthew Gilkes both fell for ducks, and Thornton had been expecting middle-order batter Daniel Sams to be a threat with the bat, but he made only one run.
"They're an amazing team. Halesy is a great player and Samsy down the lower order as well," Thornton said. "We thought if we got to 150-plus we'd be in the game, and it was enough I guess.
"I feel like I need to retire now, I don't think I'm getting better than that. That was an amazing game of cricket, so I'm really happy, and the mood around the crew's great, so I couldn't be happier."
Team-mate Chris Lynn top-scored with 36 in Adelaide's innings, and Lynn was wearing the on-field TV microphone as the Sydney wickets tumbled.
"I suppose you just soak it all up," Lynn said at the end of the match.
"Fifteen! I don't know what to say. Everyone's looking, laughing and giggling away. We play them in a couple of days' time down in Adelaide. It's a momentum booster, but hopefully there'll be a few scars there and we can go back-to-back.
"I'm a bit sort of 'what's going on?'."
Sydney's score was 42 worse than the previous lowest in BBL history, the 57 record by the Melbourne Renegades against the Melbourne Stars in 2015.
Warner flew into the SCG on a chopper ahead of Friday’s Big Bash clash between his Sydney Thunder side and city rivals Sydney Sixers.
The veteran batter touched down on the outfield of the famous stadium, with a host of cameras awaiting his arrival, having dashed from his brother’s wedding in the Hunter Valley to play in the match.
Speaking to Channel 7 after disembarking, he said: “I’ve done my utmost best to get down here and hopefully put some runs on the board.
“I might look like a bit of a goose if I don’t get any runs but it’s my contribution to not just the BBL but Australian cricket. I want to be out here. I want to entertain.”
Warner played his part, top-scoring for the Thunder with 37 and hitting two big sixes, but they still slumped to a 19-run defeat.
Warner’s day began more promisingly, when his attempts to distract his long-time team-mate Steve Smith appeared to pay-off. Fitted with an on-field player microphone he was heard trying to wind up Smith, joking about his decision to move up the batting order and take Warner’s old spot as Australia’s Test opener.
Smith ignored the comments and looked fully focused but proceeded to hit the first ball of the match up in the air to depart for a diamond duck.
Green was withdrawn from the Thunder team hours before the Big Bash League clash with the Melbourne Stars at the MCG.
Cricket Australia said Green was reported by umpires Nathan Johnstone and Mike Graham-Smith and third umpire Paul Wilson after a BBL match against the Stars at Sydney Showground Stadium on Thursday, January 2.
His off-spin action was tested on Sunday at the National Cricket Centre near Brisbane, and Cricket Australia said results came through on Wednesday and were relayed to Green and the Thunder.
In a media statement, Cricket Australia said: "Green will be unable to bowl for a minimum of 90 days in Cricket Australia-run competitions, effective immediately. He will be permitted to play as a batter should the Thunder or Cricket NSW desire and can also play premier cricket (including bowl) under the supervision and with the consent of Cricket NSW during his suspension.
"After the 90-day suspension has elapsed, Green will be eligible to undergo testing once again with a view to returning to bowling."
As well as his Thunder commitments, Green has signed up for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and is due to head to England to captain the Birmingham Bears in the domestic T20 Blast later this year.
Thunder coach Shane Bond backed Green, saying: "He's an important part of our future and the club will support him through this process."
Akeal Hosein’s Sydney Sixers handed Sherfane Rutherford’s Sydney Thunder their first loss of this Big Bash League season at the Sydney Showground Stadium on Saturday.
The Hurricanes hit form at the right time to make the play-offs, but they crashed out with a crushing defeat at Blundstone Arena on Thursday.
It will be the Thunder who face Adelaide Strikers in the Knockout clash at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after they racked up 197-5 and Hobart were all out for 140 in reply.
In-form batsman Hales, the second-highest run-scorer in the competition, blasted 60 off 37 balls and Khawaja bludgeoned a 34-ball 54 in an onslaught of 103 for the first wicket inside 10 overs.
Hobart never really looked like chasing that down with D'Arcy Short gone for 37 and Matthew Wade just 14, Cook dismissing both openers and finishing with outstanding figures of 4-21.
Chris Morris claimed 3-27 and Daniel Sams, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, 2-24 in an impressive display from Sydney in the field as they eased through to end George Bailey's career.
THUNDER OPENERS MAKE LIGHTNING START
Hales and Khawaja got the Thunder off to a dream start after Callum Ferguson won the toss, setting about Clive Rose, James Faulkner, Scott Boland and Short.
Back-to-back overs from Rose and Boland cost 17 runs apiece, the latter put onto the roof at deep square leg by Hales after Khawaja was the first to a half-century from only 30 balls.
Faulkner struck Khawaja bang in front with a slower ball in the 10th over before Hales also moved to 50 off 30 deliveries, the English opener going on to blast Qais Ahmad for his third six before falling to Boland.
ELLIS BRINGS SOME CALM AFTER THE STORM
Ferguson ought to have been run out when he was well set after dispatching Short for two boundaries in as many balls before Alex Ross took a liking to the spin of Rose.
Short held on when Ferguson slapped a Rose full toss to him at deep midwicket as the Thunder lost the momentum somewhat before taking 16 off the penultimate over from Faulkner
Nathan Ellis finished off his excellent spell by going for just six off the last over to record figures of 1-18 from four, but Hales and Khawaja's stand left the Hurricanes facing a huge challenge to stay in the tournament.
COOK COMES TO THE BOIL, BAILEY BOWS OUT
Much was resting on the shoulders of Wade and the big-hitting Short, but Cook had the captain caught behind and also saw the back of his fellow opener.
There was no explosive swansong for Bailey, retiring to become an Australia national selector, as he was sent on his way by Morris to leave Hobart with a mountain to climb at 74-4 in the ninth over.
The excellent Cook also removed Simon Milenko and cleaned up Rose in what was an emphatic win for the Thunder.
Led by 85 from Livingstone's fellow Englishman Alex Hales, the Thunder had set the hosts 154 to win on Monday.
But a magnificent opening stand of 136 from Livingstone and Josh Inglis (58) ensured the Scorchers made a strong response to losing back-to-back matches against the Melbourne Stars.
The Scorchers are now one point clear of the Thunder, with both teams in contention to reach the playoffs with two matches each left to play.
HALES ON FIRE BUT LACKING SUPPORT
Hales was out for a duck in his last outing against the Sydney Sixers but after the Thunder won the toss and opted to bat, he delivered in this one.
The former England international hit 10 fours and three sixes in his 59-ball outing, although he was lacking support from his team-mates.
Usman Khawaja (11) and captain Callum Ferguson (4) both fell cheaply, before a 48-run stand between Hales and Arjun Nair (11) was ended by Chris Jordan.
Jordan, who is set to join up with England and be replaced by Morne Morkel for the Scorchers, left on a high with an impressive 3-28, including a slower ball to finally get rid of Hales in the final over.
A steady knock from Alex Ross (22 not out) helped the Thunder to close on 153-5, but it proved to not be enough as they fell to a fifth defeat in seven matches.
INGLIS AND LIVINGSTONE DOMINATE
The Scorchers' victory was inspired by their openers, who hit six maximums between them, three coming off deliveries from Liam Bowe (0-25).
Inglis was hit in the helmet by Gurinder Sandhu (1-33) in the fifth over and, after a lengthy delay, made a brilliant response by smashing the next delivery for six over cow corner.
After racking up 64 runs in the first five overs, Livingstone and Inglis were in complete control and did not look back.
Brendan Doggett had two horrendous drops off Livingstone but he finally held on to one to remove Inglis off the bowling of Sandhu.
Livingstone, who brought up his fifty off 28 balls, was eventually caught by Ross at deep midwicket as he attempted to hit the winning runs, but any doubt over the match outcome had long since been removed.
Captain Mitchell Marsh (two not out) came into do the honours as the Scorchers eased home with 4.3 overs to spare.
Man of the match Sherfane Rutherford came to the rescue to help the Sydney Thunder defeat the Perth Scorchers by six wickets in a last-over thriller at Perth Stadium on Friday.
The Scorchers batted first and posted 177-4 from their 20 overs after Thunder skipper David Warner won the toss and chose to field.
Chasing a target of 152, the Stars were in a spot of trouble on 83-4 after losing the wickets of opener Marcus Stoinis for 31 and Captain Glen Maxwell to consecutive deliveries from Tanveer Sangha (2-20).
The powerfully built Jamaican successfully navigated Sangha’s hat-trick ball and then set about smashing a four and five sixes to guide his side to victory with 17 balls to spare.
Russell didn’t do it all by himself, though, as Hilton Cartwright contributed to the rearguard effort with 23 from just 13 balls as the Stars raced to 155-4. Together, he and Russell posted 72 from just 34 balls that saw the Stars pick up four valuable points.
In leading his side to victory, Russell also made up for the 38 runs he conceded from his four overs as the Thunder made 151-5.
Led by some lower-order hitting from Alex Ross who cleared the boundary on four occasions and hit the ropes another four times in his score of 77 that rescued the Thunder after Qais Ahmed (2-17), Brody Couch (2-26) and Maxwell (1-7) had reduced the Thunder to 65-4 by the 12th over.
Ross and Daniel Sams, the latter playing his part in the recovery scoring 22 from 18 balls, put on 84 from 48 balls before Sams was dismissed on the penultimate ball of the innings.
The in-form Stars moved top of the Big Bash League table, level on points with Sydney Sixers with a better net run rate and a game in hand, by securing a fourth consecutive victory on Wednesday.
Pakistani paceman Rauf claimed the second Big Bash hat-trick of the day after Rashid Khan took three in three during the Adelaide Strikers' defeat to Sydney Sixers.
The Thunder were restricted to 145-5 after a brilliant final over from Rauf (3-23), Matthew Gilkes top scoring with 41 from 35 balls.
Marcus Stoinis (50) struck a third consecutive half-century, while Maxwell made an unbeaten 59 from just 37 balls to replace Luke Wright as the Stars' leading run-scorer to get his side home with more than two overs to spare.
Defeat for the Thunder was their second in a row and dropped them down a place to fourth on a day in which spinner Chris Green was banned from bowling for three months due to an illegal delivery action.
RAPID RAUF ROCKS THUNDER
Rauf has been a revelation for the Stars since being plucked from grade cricket in Hobart as cover for Dale Steyn.
The quick could be returning to Australia for the T20 World Cup later this year after he took his tally of wickets to 13 in four matches in dramatic fashion.
Rauf saw the back of Gilkes, who struck two sixes, with the second ball of the last over and Callum Ferguson played on to the next delivery before Daniel Sams was trapped lbw on the hat-trick ball.
SENSATIONAL STOINIS CONTINUES PURPLE PATCH
Stoinis maintained his outstanding form to move over the 300-run mark for the tournament.
The leading run-scorer in the 2019-20 competition had a touch of fortune when he was given not out after being rapped on the pad by Chris Tremain in the third over.
Stoinis took advantage by anchoring the run chase, hitting a six and another four boundaries before holing out off Jonathan Cook, leaving the Stars 103-4 in the 14th.
MAGNIFICENT MAXWELL EASES STARS HOME
Captain Maxwell took only 29 balls to score his first half-century of the tournament.
The all-rounder, who also conceded just 18 runs from three overs, found the rope eight times and launched Tremain for six to keep the Stars on course for victory.
Maxwell was on the deck after trying to clatter Morris and making no contact, but he hit the South Africa bowler for a glorious boundary to finish off the job in the same over.
The Renegades beat Sydney Thunder by 12 runs under the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method in a rain-affected clash in Canberra to end their nine-match losing streak in convincing fashion.
Sam Harper (52 off 38 balls) and Shaun Marsh (47 from 34) starred with the bat as the defending champions posted 172-4, with Mohammad Nabi and captain Dan Christian's late big hitting bolstering the total.
Sydney were behind the rate when the weather closed in, returning with a revised total of 135 off 14 overs and coming up short on 122-7 despite the best efforts of Alex Ross (51 off 27), as Christian proved the Renegades' saviour with the ball.
RENEGADES MAKE A STATEMENT
With such a miserable run of form weighing on them, Melbourne needed to post a challenging target.
Opener Marsh certainly got the memo, his 34-ball knock including six fours and a maximum, while Harper also got on the front foot to boost the holders.
Still, the late cameos of Nabi (11 off 3) and Christian (21 off 12) were key, with the Renegades on a modest 125-3 at the end of the 17th over.
A strong finish saw them put up another 47 runs in the final three overs, Nabi thrashing the last ball for six.
ROSS CUTS LOOSE BEFORE CHRISTIAN FIGHTS BACK
The revised target was a tough ask for the Thunder, who initially made precious little headway in pursuit.
That was until Ross thrashed 26 balls of one Nabi over to haul his side back into the contest.
But all-rounder Christian came to the fore in the next over, in which he took two wickets – including that of danger man Ross – for just five runs.
There were no late fireworks as the Thunder, who sit sixth, finished on 122-7.
The Stars topped the regular-season table but were battered by Sydney Sixers in last week's Qualifier.
However, they will get a shot at redemption in Saturday's showpiece after winning the Challenger on home turf at the MCG with Stoinis and man of the match Larkin each hammering 83 in an imposing score of 194-2.
Stoinis' knock saw him break the record for the most runs in a single BBL season and, despite Alex Ross putting on 45 and 58 with Chris Morris and Arjun Nair, the Thunder could only muster 166-8 in reply with Haris Rauf (3-17), Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-29) and Adam Zampa (2-43) doing the damage.
STOINIS AND LARKIN MAKE THUNDER TOIL
It has been a BBL season to remember for Stoinis, whose 695 runs so far betters the 637 accumulated by D'Arcy Short last term.
There were seven fours and three sixes from the Australia limited-overs international from his 54 balls, and he made the most of being dropped down the leg side by Jay Lenton.
While Stoinis was eventually bowled by Morris, Larkin was unbeaten come the end of a brutal 49-ball knock in which he clubbed three straight over the ropes and recorded another nine fours.
RAUF AND CO. FINISH THE JOB
The Thunder had already seen dangerman Alex Hales (8) run out and Usman Khawaja (23 off 15) bowled by Coulter-Nile after a promising start by the time Rauf tempted captain Callum Ferguson (7) into a misguided waft that sailed to wicketkeeper Seb Gotch.
Needing partnerships, Ross – whose knock of 58 included three fours and as many sixes – was combining well with Morris before the latter was bowled by the brilliant Rauf.
The writing was on the wall even before Ross and Nair each fell to Zampa in the 17th over and Rauf claimed one more for his personal tally from the final set of six when Lenton picked out Nic Maddinson at deep midwicket.
All-rounder Short had never previously claimed four wickets in a Twenty20 match, but he went one better with figures of 5-21 to make up for a duck with the bat.
Captain Matthew Wade (56) and Mac Wright (64) struck half-centuries to get the Hurricanes up to 185-6 at Blundstone Arena.
The Thunder were always struggling after Short got rid of the in-form Alex Hales for 63, and a dismal collapse saw them collapse to 128 all out all out midway through the 18th over.
Victory for Hobart moves them above the Thunder into fifth spot on net run-rate, with both sides having one match of the regular season remaining. Brisbane Heat are one point behind them with two to play.
SKIPPER WADES IN AS D'ARCY FALLS SHORT
It did not seem it would be Short's day on his return to the side when he was dismissed by Arjun Nair (2-19) from the second delivery he faced, but fellow opener Wade and Wright made amends.
A second-wicket partnership of 97 lifted Hobart but was broken in frustrating fashion, Wade, with eight boundaries from 34 balls, caught behind off the excellent Daniels Sams.
The same combination of Sams and wicketkeeper Jay Lenton accounted for Wright, too, although only after he had dished out some further damage.
Sams ended with 4-34, but George Bailey's 29 off 10 helped ensure Hurricanes put an imposing total on the board.
THUNDEROUS HALES STRETCH INSPIRES
Sydney were always struggling to reach their target, but Hales gave them hope in the sixth over, blasting three straight sixes and a four to end to the powerplay on a competitive 55-0.
Hales stuck around for a time, but the boundaries were not so easy to find.
The opener went in the 13th over as Short claimed his first wicket of the evening, leaving Thunder on 100-3 and in need of something special.
SHORT ROARS BACK TO STUN SYDNEY
Instead Short tore through Sydney's middle order. Chris Morris was trapped lbw later in the same over, before Wright had his revenge for Lenton's earlier work with a diving catch.
Short checked Alex Ross' (36) briefly explosive knock, too, and had his five-for three balls later - fittingly seeing the back of Nair.
Thunder ultimately fell short in dismal fashion, consecutive balls seeing Gurinder Sandhu bowled and Liam Bowe ran out by Wright.
Set a meagre 152 for victory on Saturday, the Strikers were cruising towards a comfortable victory before Daniel Sams (3-26) and Chris Morris (2-22) instigated the loss of five wickets for 24 runs.
Star batsman Alex Hales top scored with 59 for the Thunder, who finished four points behind Adelaide on the ladder but will now face the Melbourne Stars in a do-or-die challenger clash on Thursday.
The winner of that match will advance to face the Sydney Sixers in the February 8 final at the SCG.
HALES GIVES THUNDER HOPE
Usman Khawaja's early exit and the loss of Callum Ferguson inside six overs could have derailed the Thunder before their innings began to take shape.
Hales had other ideas and, like he has done so regularly in the tournament, gave his team crucial quick runs at the top of the order.
The destructive England opener hammered six fours and four sixes to record his fourth half-century in five innings while dominating a 51-run stand with Alex Ross (12).
Arjun Nair (18) and all-rounder Morris (21) made handy contributions lower down the order to build a competitive total, but the Thunder would surely have been bundled out if not for their key man.
STRIKERS SQUANDER WINNING POSITION
Phil Salt's departure in the opening over of the chase failed to prevent the Strikers from making a confident start in front of an expectant Adelaide Oval crowd.
Travis Head entered and struck a quickfire 32 before Alex Carey (28) and Jonathan Wells (34) came together and produced what looked to be a match-winning partnership worth 50 runs.
Then, however, came the collapse. Australia international Carey was run out after gambling on a quick single and the promotion of Rashid Khan failed to pay dividends as he looped a catch out to deep square two balls later.
When Morris pinned Matt Short in front for a duck, the Strikers had lost three wickets for two runs and undone their good work.
TREMAIN FLAILS BUT THUNDER PREVAIL
Adelaide's implosion was only matched by that of Thunder bowler Chris Tremain, who sent down three wides in a wretched 16-run 18th over that left the door ajar.
Sams made amends, conceding five runs and removing both Michael Neser and Peter Siddle the following over.
Morris then extracted a thin edge from Wells, the Strikers' famed finisher, to all but end the contest at the beginning of the 20th.
Key contributors Sams and Hales combined to let a high ball go to ground but the damage was done as the Thunder kept alive their hopes of a second BBL title.
Unwanted history was made by the Thunder when they were all out for just 15 in the Big Bash League on Friday, the lowest total ever recorded in men's professional T20 cricket.
Unsurprisingly, they lost that game at the Sydney Showground Stadium to the Strikers, who had set a target of 140.
All eyes were on the Thunder to see if they could respond when the two teams met again in Adelaide, and an ironic cheer went up from the home fans as openers Alex Hales and Matthew Gilkes went past 15 after just two-and-a-half overs.
T20 World Cup winner Hales went on to hit 68 from 50 balls, including six fours and three sixes, while Ollie Davies added 42 from 30 as the Thunder posted a far more respectable total of 150-5 from their 20 overs, exactly 10 times as many as last week.
It was not enough, though. Jake Weatherald fell early for Adelaide in their chase, but they were rarely troubled after that as Matt Short (65) was ably supported by 28 each from Chris Lynn and Adam Hose (not out).
Despite a late run out of Colin de Grandhomme, the Strikers eased to the target with six wickets and eight balls to spare to maintain their winning start to the season, while the Thunder have won just one of their four matches.
The Thunder needed to triumph to avoid elimination from top-five contention and held their nerve with the bat after being set 96 from 12 overs for victory following a rain delay at Spotless Stadium.
South African Morris clubbed a six and a four in consecutive deliveries to reward Alex Hales' blistering 47 and get the hosts home with two balls to spare, sealing a seven-wicket victory that takes them above the Scorchers and into fourth.
Miserly bowling from Chris Tremain (1-14) and Daniel Sams (1-16) earlier restricted the Scorchers to 99-4 from 15 overs, their total reduced following the hour-long pause in play.
BANCROFT BUILDS COMPETITIVE TOTAL
The Scorchers gave themselves plenty of work to do after winning the toss, electing to bat and then slipping to 64-4 in the 12th over of their truncated innings.
They were indebted to Cameron Bancroft for achieving a reasonable score before the rain arrived, the Australia international managing a valuable unbeaten 35 from 25 balls amid scant contributions elsewhere in the top six.
Liam Livingstone stuttered to Perth's next-best score with 20 off 27 as Tremain, Sams and Morris (1-9) kept the total down.
HALES HELPS THUNDER THROUGH THE STORM
Following scores of 85 and 63 in the previous two games, England international Hales continued his fine form in a standout performance.
The 31-year-old made light of a difficult wicket as he breezed to 47 from 27 balls before slicing a catch to cover off Fawad Ahmad (1-15).
The ease with which Hales found the boundary - his innings included four fours and two sixes - came in contrast to the other batsman during a low-scoring affair on a difficult wicket.
MORRIS SETTLES THUNDER NERVES
Hales' departure led to the loss of three wickets for 16 runs as the Thunder started to let victory slip from their grasp.
Usman Khawaja (22) was caught out of his crease, Jhye Richardson bowled Alex Ross and the Scorchers suddenly became favourites to escape with the points.
Enter all-rounder Morris. After watching Callum Ferguson take three runs off the first two balls of the decisive 12th over from Matt Kelly, the 32-year-old brought a stunning end to the contest.
He struck a huge six over long-on and then pierced a drive through the off-side to snatch a season-saving win for the Thunder just as it looked to have eluded them.
Two interruptions due to adverse weather inside the opening three overs resulted in the match being reduced to 16 overs each, but the Sixers were already in trouble at 6-3.
Daniel Sams claimed figures of 3-14, which included the scalps of Justin Avendano (28) and Ben Dwarshuis (19) – the only Sixers batsmen to reach double figures.
Chris Morris (2-12 from 3.5 overs) removed Jackson Bird and took the bails off to run out Steve O'Keefe for a diamond duck in the final over as Moises Henriques' team were skittled for the second-lowest BBL score of 76.
Usman Khawaja was on 13 when he fell to Tom Curran in the fourth over of the chase, but Callum Ferguson (8 not out) and Sams (5no) ensured the Thunder stayed above the par score by getting to 28-2 when the rain hit again.
The Sixers consequently missed a chance to open up a four-point advantage on the teams chasing second place, with the Thunder now two points back in fourth.
The weather saw a delayed start and then limited Brisbane to just eight overs in the first innings, but Banton quickly made up for lost time in a 16-run triumph.
The England international needed just 16 balls to reach 50, ending on 56 after seven sixes that helped Heat to an impressive 119-4.
Further rain appeared the only hindrance to a dominant win, and neither the conditions nor Thunder - chasing 77 in a reduced five overs - could effectively intervene.
BANTON BLOWS THUNDER AWAY
Banton started as he meant to go on when the covers came off, launching Daniel Sams over the boundary from the first ball.
And this rapid progress continued alongside fellow opener Chris Lynn, lifting Brisbane to 39 without loss by the end of the two-over powerplay.
But it was a blistering fourth over that stole the show, Banton following up a rare dot ball with five successive maximums to bring up his half-century in sensational style.
The second six in that stretch had been carried over the rope by Brendan Doggett as he desperately tried to check the 21-year-old's thrilling assault.
HEAT HALTED AS RAIN RETURNS
A partnership of 90 was finally ended in the fifth over, as Banton hit a Chris Tremain full toss to Chris Morris on the fence.
That prompted something of a collapse, with Heat only able to add another 29 runs.
Doggett held on impressively to account for Lynn (31), before Sams (2-24) removed Max Bryant and Matt Renshaw.
Thunder's hopes of victory were extremely remote and they were 18-1 after two overs, but Brisbane were dealt a blow when rain fell again with the match still 2.5 overs short of the requisite number of deliveries.
SAMS CARRIES SYDNEY'S HOPES
With Sydney then facing a tough total as play resumed, Callum Ferguson launched towards the boundary but was caught before Alex Hales (21 not out) struck consecutive fours.
An entertaining fourth over saw three boundaries and two wickets, and Thunder's chances were all but over when Sams' (10) six-four start was followed up with a stunning grab out of the air from Ben Laughlin.
They could only reach 61-4, as Ben Cutting saw out the fifth and final over with an array of yorkers.
Opening batter Warner was embroiled in controversy back in 2018, partnering with Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft as the trio were punished for their involvement in a ball-tampering scandal against South Africa.
All three players were handed a year-long ban for their role in the Newlands Test scandal, though Warner was punished the most severely as he was banned from holding a leadership position ever again.
The 35-year-old expressed fears he would never play for his country again but has since returned to enjoy T20 World Cup success, coupled with an Ashes demolition of England.
While Warner has quietly returned to the fore both nationally and domestically, growing calls have suggested his ban should be removed so he can replace Usman Khajawa as Sydney Thunder captain in the Big Bash League.
"That hasn't really been brought to the table," he said on Sunday when asked if there could be a change of heart at Cricket Australia.
"As I've said plenty of times off the record, it's upon the board to reach out to me and open their doors. Then I can sit down and have an honest conversation with them.
"The board has changed since back in 2018 and when all those sanctions were dealt. It would be great to have a conversation with them and see where we are at."
Regardless of whether Warner holds a position within Pat Cummins' Australian leadership team or with the Thunder, the left-handed opener believes he can still play a role without a title.
"I've got the experience, I'm a leader in the side anyway without having a title," he added.
"That's what I'm about, giving back, so if they [younger players] can pick my brains in any way, my phone is always there, they have my number, and they can see me when I'm at the practice facilities."
