As a jittery Perth Scorchers suffered a dramatic top-order collapse against a shorthanded Sydney Sixers, head coach Adam Voges decided to make a drastic change in a bid to spark his team in the BBL final.
An uncharacteristically reckless Scorchers repeatedly threw away their wickets to be teetering at 4 for 25 after being sent in at a closed-roof Marvel Stadium. It left Voges filling out the official form to insert young allrounder Aaron Hardie into the contest as the X-factor at the designated ten-over mark of the innings.
But Scorchers' brains trust decided to wait on lodging the paperwork until a fifth wicket fell. It didn't eventuate any time soon and Hardie was not required as Player-of-the-Final Laurie Evans and skipper Ashton Turner turned the match with a belligerent 104-run partnership to fuel Scorchers' eventual 79-run victory and record fourth BBL title.
"It wasn't the start we wanted," Voges said. "We didn't get the tempo right, went too hard. Fortunately, Laurie and Ashton changed the whole course of the game. For them to be brave and take risks was outstanding."
English import Evans produced his best innings of his debut BBL season, where he smoked an unbeaten 41-ball 76 marked by aggression from the get-go against Sixers' star spinners Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon, who had torn through the top order.
"We spoke to people in England about him," Voges said of Evans who played with a broken toe sustained at the end of the regular season. "He's suited to these types of wickets. He has gotten better and better and he saved his best for tonight."
Evans had been overshadowed through the season by Scorchers' big-hitters at the top of the order but his energetic batting made him an important part of their middle order. Given their usual strength at the top, Evans had mainly batted in the backend of innings but he showcased his devastating firepower after coming in at the end of the sixth over.
"It's a do-or-die game, you come out swinging," Evans said. "It was about managing risks and the game plan. I've played a lot of cricket and batted everywhere… I tried to add some experience and skill."
Scorchers' triumph might be the sweetest in their storied history having been the team to beat all season despite being on the road for 50 straight days due to being shut out of Western Australia's closed borders.
"If we had lost today it would have meant nothing," Evans said. "To dominate the way we did says a lot about the group and coaching staff. It was my job to put the cherry on top."
The victory meant Scorchers broke the deadlock for most BBL titles with arch-rivals Sixers, who had limped into the final after being decimated by Covid-19 and injury.
Sixers captain Moises Henriques rued his attack leaking 38 runs from overs eight to ten as their bid for a historic hat-trick of titles ended after a fourth straight defeat to Scorchers this month.
"They put the pressure back on us," Henriques said. "That was one of the better partnerships I've seen. I didn't think they would take SOK [O'Keefe] on, and they kept going and took that momentum. It completely changes the mindset.
"Perth had a fantastic year. They had our measure throughout the season."
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
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