Big Bash League Final. Turner, Hobson and Connolly get Perth Scorchers over the line to win their fifth Big Bash League title
Perth Scorchers has been the best team in the tournament by far, and they proved it in the end by winning their fifth title. They were the favorites before the big final in front of their home crowd and got over the line in a tough chase. Brisbane Heat won the toss and decided to bat first in this crucial game. Their top order responded well to the captain’s decision, and they managed to score 100 runs in the 13th over. Josh Brown looked good with a quick 25 on 12 balls but got out early. Sam Heazlett was joined by Nathan McSweeney at the crease. They started building a good first wicket stand, adding 99 runs to the total. Heazlett got out at 34 (30) in the 13th over followed by the wicket of Jimmy Peirson.
McSweeney was also sent back to the pavilion in the 15h over after making a useful 41 (37). In pursuit of putting a challenging total, Sam Hain 21 (16), and Max Bryant 31 (14) got them back on track to put a decent total of 175/7 on the board. Regardless of the dominant position of Perth Scorchers, they had a good target to chase to win Big Bash League final. However, their top order could not respond in this critical chase, and they were 54/3 in the 8th over. Things were looking quite positive for Brisbane at this very moment as Perth Scorchers were under pressure.
However, their lower middle order stood up at the occasion and started making considerable partnerships to stay in the match. Perth Scorchers needs 10 runs from the last over. Nick Hobson scored six and four on the first two deliveries of the last over, winning the match and tournament for his team. This chase was also made possible by little cameos played by Turner and Connolly. Turner made a crucial 53 with a strike rate of 165.62. Connolly made 25 (11) with a strike rate of 227.27. These unlikely heroes got their team to go through the final hurdle and name a fifth Big Bash League title for themselves in front of a massive crowd of 53,886 people. It is interesting to mention here that it was the 4th biggest crowd attendance in the history of Big Bash League.