The Scorchers crush the Sixers and move into the BBL decider


The match started so well for Sydney, with a masterful blaster from Allen and some bushes at Optus Stadium the only things to catch fire during a hit-and-miss Scorchers innings.

Allen hit four sixes and two fours en route to his 49 off 30 balls.

The Scorchers were well placed at 1-67 in the eighth over, but when Allen chopped Ben Dwarshuis on his stumps, it completely halted Perth’s momentum.

Josh Inglis (2), Cooper Connolly (8) and Laurie Evans (5) all fell cheaply as the Scorchers were bowled out for 6-101 in the 15th over.

Shortly afterwards, some bushes around the perimeter of the stadium caught fire and some punters poured water from the concrete pavement above in an attempt to put out the flames.

The fire was eventually extinguished and the Scorchers’ innings also fizzled out in a similar fashion, with Ashton Turner (29 off 21) and Jhye Richardson (20 off 18) unable to get off the leash completely during their 44-run stand.

Dwarshuis (2-23 from four overs) was the best bowler for the Sixers, while Jack Edwards (2-25), Starc (2-32) and Sean Abbott (0-24) also played vital roles.

As the Sixers batted, first-over specialist Cooper Connolly again struck first, with Babar Azam attempting the second ball after failing to ground on the back foot in time.

Beardman delivered a double blow in the fourth over, Josh Philippe (13) and Moises Henriques (2) leapfrogging him to take an easy catch.

That left the Sixers at 3-23 at the end of their four-over Power Play.

Remarkably, Smith faced just three balls in that stretch as the Scorchers did an excellent job of keeping him off the strike.

Connolly was brought back in the 10th over and bowled Jack Edwards for a duck.

Smith still loomed as a match-winner at that stage, but Beardman used his blistering pace to send the 36-year-old packing.

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