Subjective case or objective case of pronoun?

:?:
Which of the following is the correct grammar usage
1) We scored as many runs as they.
or
2) We scored as many runs as them.?

I heard according to earlier usage it was them & now it has been changed to they.
Please explain the rule involved.

Grammatically, it is 'they', but colloquially, it sounds too formal, and so in general conversation, you will hear people say 'as them'.

tbh.. To me it sounds a bit odd to say "they scored as many runs as they".

but that's me, and I'd have to look it up.

Off the top of my head I'd say that it comes to subject and object pronouns.

1) They being your subject pronoun

ie; They teach the students.

2) Them being your object pronoun

ie; The teachers teach them.

So generally speaking;
SP before the verb and OP after the verb

If I wanted to use "they" at the end of the sentence like that I would also add the verb "did" to complete it... or even better "had" as it is a good opportunity to use the past perfect! :-D