BBL6 Grand Final Recap - Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers
Perth Scorchers 1/144 (15.5) Defeated Sydney Sixers 9/141 (20 Overs)
Scorchers Cruise to Third Title
The Perth Scorchers cruised to their third BBL title in four years with a thumping 9-wicket victory over the Sydney Sixers in a one-sided final at the WACA. In what could be the final game the Scorchers play at the WACA, they controlled the match from start to finish as they cemented their place further as the premier T20 franchise in the country. The Scorchers now have two more BBL titles than any other franchise, and they did it in style last night by overwhelming a Sixers' side that wasn't at the races. After reducing the visitors to 3/17, the Scorchers reduced the visitors to a mediocre total of 9/141 from their 20 overs, before Michael Klinger (71 n/o) and Sam Whiteman destroyed any faint hope that the Sixers had with an aggressive opening stand. English import Ian Bell (31 n/o) mopped up the rest of the runs with Klinger to cue more celebrations in the West for Justin Langer's men.
Scorchers Kill The Game Early With The Bat
I have to say I loved the way the Scorchers attacked a small total from Ball 1 last night. Often you see teams bat very differently when chasing a score between 140 and 160, and almost go into their shell and bat more conservatively. Once you do that, and you lose a couple of wickets, all of a sudden the run rate becomes an issue, and pressure builds on the middle order. Last night Justin Langer seemed to give his openers a license from Ball 1 to "Kill the Sixers" early, by going extremely hard and alleviating any pressure on the middle order in the way of run rate. Of course this tactic can backfire, however last night it proved the perfect tonic by demoralising the Sixers in the field from the get go, and targeting their medium pacers. With the ball, the Sixers' quicks had never been that convincing in the Power Play, and this game was all but over after 3 overs, with Perth racing along to 0/38. Whiteman and Klinger clearly targeted Jackson Bird and Ben Dwarshuis and, before the Sixers could even get gun spinner Nathan Lyon into the game, they were just about out of the contest already.
Langer Just Gets His Men Playing As A Unit
I said at the start of the BBL that batsmen get you to finals, but bowlers win you championships, and I think the Scorchers proved that theory correct again here. In both the Semi-Final and Grand Final, they were able to hold their opposition to really mediocre scores by taking early wickets and really strangling their opponents from there on in. I know Chris Lynn won Man of the Tournament, however I would have given it to Mitchell Johnson given his impact in the finals. Batsmen could barely lay bat on Johnson in both the Semi-Final and the Final, as he combined for the astonishing figures of 4/16 from his 8 overs. Once again, Perth did well with their overseas imports with Bell, Bresnan and Willey all playing really important and consistent roles in the side. Like I have said before, Perth don't play a kamikaze brand of T20 cricket. They are a lot more methodical and Michael Klinger was really consistent in making sure Perth put up defendable, if not impregnable, totals. Unlike the Sixers, I just felt this was a very well drilled team, with a lot of players in really good form, and it proved a mismatch on the field last night.
Sixers Inconsistency Finally Tells
It's hard to say a team that made the Grand Final this year underachieved, however you could make that case for the Sydney Sixers. I just thought as a unit they performed poorly given the talent they had at their disposal, and they won their way through to the final courtesy as much to individual displays as they did solid and dependable team cricket. In Maddinson, Lumb, Haddin and Silk, the Sixers had four batsmen in their top order that averaged well under 20, which would usually mean you don't even make the finals. They managed to sneak in through the back door courtesy of a Sean Abbott and Johan Botha latter order rearguard against the Stars, however last night all that luck finally caught up with them. While Henriques, Haddin and Botha did their best to scramble a score for the visitors, they could never quite recover from being 3/17 early. Jackson Bird had a tough campaign, picking up just one wicket and going for over 10 runs per over, while Ben Dwarshuis did well at the death, but struggled up front again. Having made the Grand Final, the Sixers can look back on this tournament as a success, given they finished in last position last season. It's the biggest turn around of any team this year, however I still feel this team never really gelled and showed us exactly what they are capable of. It would be easy to say they saved their worst for last, however a performance like last night was all too familiar for the Sixers.
Lurker Bows Out with A Loss
It wasn't the dream finale for The Lurker as he bowed out with a loss to finish 21-14 overall on the season. The highlight for The Lurker this season was undoubtedly his unbelievable 2016 from which saw him win 10 of the opening 11 games and land a number of monster high bat doubles. The Lurkers form tailed off in 2017, going 11-13, however he still finished with a respectable win total of 60%. While his 60% win total couldn't score him a long term contract, he will be back on an incentives based deal for BBL7.