In a crushingly one-sided final, the Perth Scorchers beat the Sydney Sixers to become champions of the BBL 06 at the WACA ground in Perth today.
Batting first after losing the toss, the Sydney Sixers innings could never take off as they lost their first three wickets in no time. Retired Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin tried to resurrect the innings with an enterprising knock of 38 off just 25 balls with two sixes and 4 fours, but his dismissal in the 10th over with the score at 74 led to two more quick wickets and the score became 80 for six in the 12th.
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A useful contribution of 32 from Johan Botha took the eventual score to 141 for 9 after 20 overs. Young pacer Jhye Richardson and England all-rounder Tim Bresnan took 3 wickets each.
In reply, the Scorchers began their innings with a blast as openers Klinger and Whiteman raced to an opening stand of 75 in less than eight overs. Whiteman was in tremendous form as he took the attack to the Sixers bowlers right from the first over and scored a thrilling 41 off just 21 deliveries with five fours and three sixes.
After his dismissal, England star batsman Ian Bell joined Klinger and ensured there was no further damage in the chase. He remained unbeaten on 31 and lent great support to Klinger who scored a match winning 71 off just 49 balls with five fours and five sixes, one of which was the one that sealed the title. This was the third Big Bash League title for the Scorchers and they have been by far the most consistent team in the history of the tournament.
Brief Scores: Sydney Sixers – 141 for 9 in 20 overs (Brad Haddin 38, Johan Botha 32, Jhye Richardson 3 for 30, Tim Bresnan 3 for 40) lost to the Perth Scorchers – 144 for 1 in 15.5 overs (Michael Klinger 71, Sam Whiteman 41, Nathan Lyon 1 for 28)
Result: Perth Scorchers won by 9 wickets.
Man of the match: Jhye Richardson
Player of the tournament: Chris Lynn
Under-25 cricketer of the tournament: Sean Abbott
Let’s take a look at some of the best moments from the game:
#5 Haddin shows class is permanent
It’s been 2 years since his retirement from international cricket, but wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is still as good as any in the world with both bat and gloves. Coming in to bat at no.5 with the score reading 17 for 3 after three overs, he launched a brilliant counter-attack on the Scorchers bowlers as he made a stroke-filled 38 off just 25 deliveries which included 4 fours and two beautifully lofted consecutive sixes off Ashton Agar.
His dismissal in the 10th over with the score on 74 triggered a collapse which the Sixers could never recover from, but in this knock, Haddin reminded us all of the fact that class is permanent. His innings would have given something to ponder over to the Australian selectors as to whether they must ask him to come out of retirement and play T20Is for Australia at 39!
#4 Young Jhye Richardson impresses on the big day:
The pressure of a big final can get to the most experienced of players, let alone the newbies, but young pacer Jhye Richardson proved he has got nerves of steel. He bowled the fourth over of the innings where he was hit for a six by Henriques.
However, he returned to the attack in the 10th over to derail the Sixers’ innings with the wicket of Brad Haddin, followed by those of Henriques and Silk in the 12th to reduce them to 80 for 6 from being 74 for three not too long ago.
He finished with super-impressive figures of 3 for 30 off his four overs and was the chief architect of the Scorchers’ win in this final. Quite deservingly, he was named the man of the match too.
#3 “Australian” Johan Botha tries to repair the damage:
Johan Botha, the ex-South African off-spinner and captain who now is an Australian citizen and hence, plays as a local player for the Sydney Sixers, walked in to bat with the score reading 79 for five in the 12th over, and set about doing what he does best; stabilise the innings.
The score soon became 80 for 6 in the same over and it was left entirely to Botha to try and get his team to a defendable score in the company of the tailenders, and he tried his best to do so. He scored an important 32 off 25 balls and had taken the score to 129 by the time he was dismissed in the 19th over.
More performances like this and a call from the Australian selectors for limited overs cricket, since he’s an Australian now, won’t be too far!
#2 Whiteman continues to impress the selectors:
Perth Scorchers wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman, at just 24 years of age, has been making all the right noises for quite a while now. It was said once about him that he’d be Adam Gilchrist’s replacement in the Australian team; such is the guy’s talent.
Chases of around 140 can be tricky and if we add to that the pressure of it being a final, the score becomes psychologically bigger than what it actually is. It could have been the case today too, but Whiteman ensured nothing of this sort would happen as he launched an attack on the Sixers bowlers right from the word go.
Starting with a four off Dwarshius in the first over, he really tore into Test match pacer Jackson Bird in the second as he hit him for three fours and a six in it, followed by two more sixes off Dwarshius in the third.
At the end of the third over, the Scorchers had raced to 36 with Whiteman batting on 34 off just 15 balls. The match was as good as over in just three overs and the selectors were given another reminder of Whiteman’s prodigious talent.
#1 Vintage Klinger seals the deal for his side:
If one has to list names of a few cricketers from the last two decades who have been unlucky to have never played for their country despite being thoroughly deserving, Michael Klinger’s name would certainly feature in it.
Averages of close to 40 in domestic T20 matches and almost 50 in domestic one-day games tell us that he should have played for Australia long back, but nevertheless, he continues to churn out runs for all teams he plays for, and this BBL has been no different.
He reserved his best for the big day and scored an unbeaten 71 off only 49 deliveries with five fours and five sixes to clinch the title for his team in just the 16th over of the chase and again showed how even at 36, he is one of the best T20 batsmen in the country.
As his skipper Adam Voges can tell him, who knows, a fairytale entry into international cricket might just be on the cards!
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