The opening edition of the Big Bash League will culminate into a potentially exciting final between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers on Saturday, January 28.
We’ll bring you the live scores and commentary of the action throughout the final, with the match starting at 8.00 pm AEDT on January 28.
The last time these two teams played in the tournament, it had resulted in a narrowest possible win for the Sixers, a one-run victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The major difference between that game and tomorrow’s final is the venue and the return of Herschelle Gibbs.
That game was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground while this will be hosted by the WACA in Perth. Then again, Gibbs, tournament’s second-highest scorer with four half-centuries to his name, was absent from that game. He will be the major discussing point for the Sixers’ backroom strategists.
Of course, there will be no Shaun Marsh for the Scorchers, while the in-form Mitchell Starc will return to the Sixers’ line-up.
The Scorchers have relied heavily on the mix of googlies and chinaman deliveries from Brad Hogg and the motley crew of quick bowlers.
Among the fast bowlers, the two Nathans, Coulter-Nile and Rimmington will look to control the run-flow while Ben Edmondson will have a more aggressive approach to his bowling.
Edmondson possesses a healthy knack for picking up the wickets but concedes aplenty as well and his spell could tilt the game one way or the other.
Despite Moises Henriques early dismissal and his general tendency to not carry on after getting a start, he looks a better option than Michael Lumb at the top of the order.
With Steve O’Keefe having shown maturity as an opener and Nic Maddinson being the fourth-best batsman in the tournament, the Sixers are well served.
The big question is whether the Sixers will want to go into the game with the luxury of four spinners – Stuart MacGill, Steven Smith, Nathan McCullum and Dominic Thornely.
The WACA pitch generally assists the seamers more than spinners and it may not be such a bad idea to drop one of the slow bowlers and continue with Ian Moran in the 11.
Expect a tough match but the team batting first will have a huge advantage – the tournament has thrown up far too many wins for the side going into bat first and in a pressure final, this effect is only going to magnify.
We will bring you the live coverage throughout the game from the WACA in Perth at 8.00 pm AEDT and hope to receive your opinions as the action unfolds.
Al
Guest
But I definitely agree with your Melbourne comment lol
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Fair call :)
Al
Guest
Lol I know what you mean.. I feel the same way about Perth....
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
My apologies for that error, have changed that now.
lou
Guest
The bowler of all that junk was Nathan Rimmingron, poor Coulter-Nile to be so mistaken. He and Marsh were just about the Scorcher's best players.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Only worse city in Australia is Melbourne!
Maggie
Guest
Great result for the Sydney Sixers! The under-rated team, without a big name overseas star and with only ONE player selected for the Oz squad. You showed them!
Nathan of Perth
Guest
God I hate that city. Nothing redeeming about Sydney and to make it worse, it is full of people from Sydney! Grr.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
That will be it from me...it has been a pleasure bringing you the live coverage of all the BBL games. We will be back with the live blogging of the first T20I between Australia and India from Sydney on February 1.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Moises Henriques has been declared the man of the match. 70 from 41 turned things around on their head. David Hussey, of the Melbourne Stars has been awarded the man of the series for his all-round show. And Steven Smith accepts the BBL trophy on behalf of his team - the squad joins him on the podium as the winners of the first edition of the Big Bash League!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
The only consolation for the Perth Scorchers is that they will also qualify for the Champions League T20 later this year - along with the Sixers obviously. A crowd of 16k would have been disappointed but that is how it goes sometimes!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Brett Lee had earlier set the win up with a couple of wickets in the very first over, including that of the man in form for the Scorchers, Herschelle Gibbs. He says that they had plans in place for all the batsmen and it was good to see them come off. He seems to have lost his voice doing all the screaming. Luke Ronchi admits that losing those two wickets was one of the big reasons they lost the match. One of those two was Ronchi himself.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Sixers needed to score a lot of runs, batting second but Moises Henriques gave them a start to remember, O'Keefe did a good support role at the top of the innings and Smith finished it off with four hits to the fence.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Four! Smith has smashed it down the ground and won it for the side! With seven balls and seven wickets in hand...
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Three off eight needed. Edmondson is doing a decent job here but the previous over spoilt it for the Scorchers.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Two more and Sixers now need only a boundary. 10 balls in hand.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Single to Smith off the first ball reduces the required runs to six. 11 balls in hand. Ben Rohrer on strike.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Four! That should be it now. A better ball, pitched up, gets the inside edge and goes to the fine-leg fence. Captain's innings here from Smith. 7 needed from 12 now and the game's gone once again the Scorchers' hands. Incidentally, England have been bowled out for 72 by Pakistan, who win the Test series. The visitors were chasing only 145 for a win. Stuart Broad had promised his side can chase 250 in the fourth innings.
jamesb
Guest
Pakistan have beaten England by 72 runs after bowling out England for 72 Pakistan wins the series. Yahoo!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Four! Now, now, that is really poor bowling from Rimmington. No fine-leg either and another short ball gives Smith time to swivel around and guide it to the fence. 14 needed from 16 now.