Scorchers triumph in fitting finale to a cracking BBL season

The Perth Scorchers have become the first Big Bash League side to win two titles, after they somewhat uncomfortably accounted for the Sydney Sixers at Manuka Oval in Canberra last night.

Set 148 to win, Perth initially tackled the chase with ease, thanks to a wonderful opening partnership of 70 between Test batsman Shaun Marsh, and the BBL’s leading run-scorer this season, Michael Klinger.

Marsh was named player of the match for his 73, but his dismissal in the 19th over triggered a mini-collapse, with the Scorchers losing four wickets in 11 balls and making the finish much more exciting than looked likely for most of their innings.

Nathan Lyon took two wickets in the 19th over, and then Brett Lee – playing his last game of cricket – found himself on a hat-trick for the last ball and with the scores level. Yasir Arafat pushed a single with the field up and ran, but Sixers Captain Moises Henriques fumbled the ball at the bowler’s end and wasn’t able to complete the run out that would’ve sent the final into a super over.

Instead, we were just as content with the third last-ball thriller of BBL|04 as the Scorchers went back-to-back.

Earlier, Perth had bowled superbly to keep the Sixers tied down, to the point where even 130 looked out of reach as the innings neared its end. Some late fireworks from Henriques pushed Sydney’s total to the eventual 5/147.

Henriques finished with 77 not out, but he was a lone hand for the Sixers, after their top order of Michael Lumb, Riki Wessels and Nic Maddinson weren’t able to get the start they’d have liked. Evergreen spinner Brad Hogg was outstanding with the ball yet again, finishing with 1/25 from his four overs, and at times getting massive amounts of turn.

Sydney Thunder, and former South African, allrounder Jacques Kallis was named player of the series.

It really was a fitting conclusion for a BBL tournament that has seen record crowds around the country, and has taken fan engagement to new levels.

But it’s also been a season of on-field highlights, too…

Best knocks
Peter Handscomb’s sensational 64-ball 103 not out to guide the Melbourne Stars home over Perth stands out here, and it announced the young Victorian ‘keeper-batsman as one of the brightest talents on the horizon.

The context of the knock is important; Handscomb was in facing the ninth ball of the Stars’ innings, having just seen Kevin Pietersen play all around an inswinger, and with Yasir Arafat on a hat-trick. Handscomb saw that off, and then set about rebuilding the Stars’ innings with his skipper, Cameron White, initially, and then Rob Quiney.

Handscomb and Quiney added 60 for the fourth wicket, but when Quiney departed in the 13th over, the Stars still needed 92 to win from 44 balls. Handscomb was 46 off 41 balls by this point, but not really taking any risks.

A slog-swept six off Ashton Agar in the next over got him going. He took 12 and 15 off the 15th and 16th overs himself, and got a kinked neck in the 17th over watching John Hastings bomb three consecutive sixes before holing out.

Come the last over, the Stars needed 12 from six, and Handscomb himself needed 11 to bring up his hundred. Six-two-six off three consecutive full tosses took care of both equations, and after a long injury layoff, everyone knew about Handscomb’s talent.

Michael Klinger’s 105 not out from 60 balls on Boxing Day set up a big win for Perth over the Melbourne Renegades, and reminded everyone that ‘Maxi’ remains one of the more versatile batsmen in the country.

And it really looked like the Sydney Thunder were turning things around when Michael Hussey and Jacques Kallis put on a 160-run opening partnership on the way to the Thunder posting 1/208 in the opening round. Sadly, it was a high point in the season for Hussey, Kallis, and the Thunder themselves, but it was a nice reminder that there was still some life in the old blokes just yet.

Adelaide’s diminutive keeper Tim Ludeman smashed 92 not out from just 44 balls on opening night, consigning Pietersen to support act, and rattling up the fastest BBL fifty in the tournament’s history, coming in just 18 balls. Ludeman hit 5 sixes on the night, and carried on the rope-clearing to finish second behind Nic Maddinson on the ‘most sixes’ list.

Best bowling
Hobart’s Jake Reed (4/11 v Thunder, Round 6), and the Renegades’ Shakib al Hasan (4/13 v Brisbane, Round 7) had the best figures of BBL|04, but…

Jason Behrendorff’s 4/22 against Adelaide in Round 2 very nearly saw the Scorchers home, defending a smallish total of 146 at home. Behrendorff got rid of both the Strikers’ openers, Ludeman and Craig Simmons, and then returned in the middle of the innings to remove Kieron Pollard and Johan Botha in the same over. Adelaide got home on the back of Brad Hodge, but Perth’s left-armer established himself as the leading young quick in the competition.

Similarly, Thunder quick Josh Lalor also found himself on the wrong side of the ledger result-wise, but his 4/29 was very nearly match-winning in the last round Sydney derby. Lalor actually had 4/6 to his name coming into the final over of the game, after he had taken the first three Sixers’ wickets in his first two overs, putting the men in pink on the back foot.

The Sixers needed 23 to win from the last over, and well… Lalor just went the journey as Jordan Silk and Stephen O’Keefe went 2-6-6-1-4-4 for the win.

Andrew Tye essentially won the second semi-final for Perth himself, twice taking two wickets in an over to first inflict serious wounds on the Stars’ batting, and then returning to finish off the kill. It was a great comeback for Tye, too, who in the last over of the Perth innings suffered the indignity of six consecutive air-swings to Clint McKay slower balls.

Nathan Lyon’s 3/19 against the Thunder in the same game Lalor took his bagful is worth a mention too. He first knocked over openers Kallis and Cameron Delport just as they threatened to really kick on, and then later took the big wicket of Mike Hussey. Lyon’s return was probably the difference between the Sixers only chasing 154 (which they only just got), and not the 170 or more that looked very likely early on.

Best catches
One area where cricket has greatly benefitted from the T20 format is the way outfielders are taking catches on and sometimes beyond the boundary. And in BBL|04, there were some beauties.

Kieron Pollard remains one of the best in the business, and twice he batted six-bound balls back into the field of play, taking one himself, and knocking the second in the direction of teammate Travis Head.

The Thunder fared alright in this department, too, with Jacques Kallis knocking one up to nonchalantly step back into the field of play and catch, while Josh Lalor had to work a bit harder for his.

Lalor had done very well to stop the six from Melbourne Stars captain Cameron White, but before completing the catch, Lalor’s last step was outside the boundary. White believed it should’ve been six, and debate raged around the wording of the appropriate Law for several days afterward. I have to admit, I’ve read and re-read it several times, and I think the wording could apply either way. Regardless, it’s in the scorebook as out.

And then there was Jordan Silk’s screamer in Sydney. He must have run 40 metres in from the boundary, and was sliding on his stomach when he claimed the catch, which was the best I’ve seen since… well, Jordan Silk’s screamer in BBL|03. Ricky Ponting believes Silk is the best fielder in Australia, and it’s hard to argue that point on the evidence presented. Outstanding catch.

Best leave
Certainly not Glenn Maxwell’s in Brisbane. I still cannot work out what he was doing there, and commentators Adam Gilchrist and Damien Fleming are still walking around with their jaws on the ground. Bizarre.

Bat breakers
Was there something in the Adelaide Oval wicket square that proved destructive for bats? Both Jono Dean and Craig Simmons had blades suddenly explode in rather dramatic fashion during Strikers’ home games, with the latter’s reminiscent of Rod Marsh’s Gray Nicolls Scoop separating from the handle back in the early 1980s. It made for great highlights, sure, but both Dean and Simmons found themselves out soon after.

Gullus immortalus
No season highlights wrap would be complete without a mention of the indestructible MCG seagull. ‘Lazarus’, as he was dubbed on social media, overcame Rob Quiney’s immediate and rather dire prognosis to stage a full recovery and even managing to get one last swoop at Quiney during the closing stages of the innings.

A big step in seagull evolution for those residing around the busiest sporting precinct in the country.

And with all that, BBL|04 is done. It was a wonderful final last night, a properly fitting conclusion, and perhaps this really has been the best Big Bash League yet.