For the fourth time in their history, the Perth Scorchers are the Big Bash Champions. In a dubious ending to one of the best T20 tournaments in world cricket, it was Batsman Laurie Evans who was the game-winner scoring an unbeaten 76 off 41 balls to help Perth reach a competitive total of 171-6. The Stars would ultimately fall short of the total set being bowled out for 92.
In what is meant to be one of Australia’s biggest days, this year’s Big Bash Final descended into chaos due to the Sydney Stars suffering from numerous injuries and a COVID outbreak. Unable to move the fixture, the Stars were forced to delve deep into their reserves by picking Nicholas Bertus (only playing his second-ever T20 match), Justin Avendano, who hadn’t played all season and assistant coach Jay Lenton. The situation was so bad that Sixers fast bowler Dan Christian joked on Twitter before the game that he would offer ‘free beer’ for anybody that wanted to play.
Sydney had tried to draft Steve Smith into the final line-up, but this request was denied because Smith hadn’t been registered at the start of the tournament.
Despite the injuries and much-changed team, the Stars were not prepared to relinquish their title without a fight. Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, they got off to the dream start by reducing the Scorchers to 25/4 after five overs, with Australian spinner Nathan Lyon doing the damage taking two wickets.
Scorchers captain Ashton Turner and Laurie Evans were able to steady the ship, moving the Scorchers from 25/4 to 129/5 with the pair sharing a crucial 104 run partnership. Turner would be dismissed for 52 whilst Evans would continue to bat on until the end of the innings. Evans 76 included four 4s and four 6s.
To chase down the total, the Stars and their inexperienced line-up came unstuck after the loss of key batsman Moises Henriques, which left the Stars at 46/3. Despite battling hard, the Stars would lose five wickets for just 11 runs, with seamers Andrew Tye and Mitchell Marsh taking three wickets between them. It was left to Jhai Richardson to claim the final two wickets of the match, skittling the Stars out for 92, earning the Scorchers their fourth Big Bash crown.
It was the fifth time that these franchises had met in the final of the Big Bash, with the Scorchers now being the most dominant side in the tournament’s history.
Despite the controversy of the final, the Scorchers had been the standout team from this year’s competition and are deserved winners. Topping the group with 11 wins from 14n matches, the Scorchers beat the Stars in the playoff phase before then beating them again in the final.
It was a bizarre ending to what was another superb edition of the tournament. Both the Stars and Scorchers have established themselves as the teams to beat, with the teams having won the last three titles between them. The Stars will come again and will be doing all they can to wrestle their title back, but for now, it’s the Scorchers who wear the crown.
