The BBL|04 competition maintained the excitement right to the final ball as Perth Scorchers scampered home to retain their title by 4 wickets against Sydney Sixers.
Brett Lee, playing the final game of a glittering career was on a hat-trick as he ran in to bowl the last ball of the tournament to Yasir Arafat, who needed one to win.
It was a Yorker. Arafat got a bottom edge and as the throw came in to Lee at the bowlers end he couldn’t execute the run out and the Scorchers were home. Just!
The Scorchers had needed 8 runs from the last over to win and Michael Carberry played an impudent ramp shot to steer the first ball to the fine leg fence. A scampered two and then a single meant just one run was needed from three, but Lee hadn’t given up.
He bowled Nathan Coulter-Nile and Sam Whiteman with his two of the last three deliveries of his career, but couldn’t quite go out with a Hollywood-style hat-trick.
Earlier, Sydney Sixers captain, Moises Henriques, has given his side a chance against Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash Final with 77 off 57 balls.
Sixers ended on 147 for five after Henriques was run out looking for 2 off the final ball of the innings for 77 off 57 balls.
Ryan Carters shared a 98 run partnership with his skipper for the fifth wicket after the pair had come together with the score 49 for four after 9.2 overs. Carters ended unbeaten on 36 from 25 balls including 4 fours.
A picture of triumph and despair as Yasir Arafat celebrates the winning run and Brett Lee sinks to his knees
It took some patience with most pundits thinking a par score for the track of circa 130 was out-of-reach, but the last five overs of the innings yielded 63 runs as first respectability, and then, competitiveness were attained.
The Manuka Oval surface was slow and low and made scoring difficult early on. Henriques hit the only two sixes in the Sixers innings, the first not coming until the 19th over.
Openers Michael Lumb (3) and Riki Wessels (2) were back in the hut in the first three overs, both bowled, victims of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff respectively.
Nick Maddison made 19 from 22 balls (2 fours) before being bowled by Yasir Arafat in the 9th over and Jordan Silk fell six balls later for 3 when he was bowled by veteran Brad Hogg.
Behrendorff’s 1 for 19 from his 4 overs was the most economical, while Hogg’s consistent miserly returns were evident again as he ended with 1 for 25.
Shaun Marsh made 73 from 58 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to give the Scorchers the ideal platform. When Nathan Lyon bowled the 19th over it seemed to be a last hurrah by Henriques, but the off-spinner had Marsh caught by Abbott on the fence and two balls later, Ashton Turner flat batted his first ball to the same fielder at deep midwicket.
With his opening partner, Michael Klinger (33 from 37), Marsh had added 70 for the first wicket before, midway through the 12th over, Klinger was caught by Abbott off Lee. Adam Voges hit a breezy 20 from 13 balls to restore the momentum.
The first ball of Lee’s 18th over effectively went for 10 runs. The first was deemed a no-ball with too many fielders outside the circle, the batsmen crossed for two and when the free hit delivery was a legside wide and the repeat delivery was smashed over deep square for six by Marsh, it seemed the wheels had come off the Sixers resistence.
But it was the wicket of Marsh at the start of the 19th over that led to a tense finish. Carberry ran like a baseball player and the Scorchers just, and only just, held their nerve in the face of a fast bowler who did not want to give up just yet.
It’s been a great BBL|04 competition, topped with a blockbuster finale.
Happy retirement to Brett Lee who finished with 3 for 26 from his 4 overs, but unfortunately ended on his knees with his head in his hands.
Congratulations to the Perth Scorchers who are worthy winners again.
We’ll go for a lie down and can’t wait for next year!
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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