In a BBL Qualifier final featuring some of Australian cricket’s most famous names, 20-year old paceman Mahli Beardman’s star shone brightest of all.
The young quick, who was named in Australia’s T20I squad for their pre-World Cup series in Pakistan, dazzled with 3/20 to not just help the Perth Scorchers defend an underwhelming total of 9/147 and book their remarkable ninth Big Bash League final berth, but rolled the red-hot Sydney Sixers – a batting unit spearheaded by Steve Smith himself – for just 99.
Beardman’s pace and bounce proved too much for each of Smith, Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques, the latter duo falling to top edges one after another in the fourth over of the run chase as the Sixers slumped to 3/23, before an attempted Smith pull was skied to fine leg for 37 in the 11th over to all but snuff out the visitors’ chances.
In front of a strong but not fully packed Optus Stadium crowd, owing to a vicious Perth heatwave, Beardman led a classic Scorchers performance with the ball, ably supported by Englishman David Payne (2/13), Jhye Richardson (1/20), Aaron Hardie (1/11) and especially fellow young gun Cooper Connolly, whose 2/12 included the scalp of Pakistan gun Babar Azam, stumped by Josh Inglis off the second ball of the innings.
While it was New Zealand import Finn Allen who was adjudged player of the match for his swashbuckling 30-ball 49 featuring four sixes earlier in the match, the only score of note in a bowling-dominated game, it was Beardman, yet to make his first-class debut for Western Australia but already about to embark on his second international white-ball tour, who announced himself as worthy of higher honours.
“He’s huge,” Connolly said of Beardman on Fox Cricket after the win.
“I think he’s had a lot of learnings over these 11 games now, and he’s only just going to get better.
“He’s still, I’m going to say 20, but he just keeps getting better and keeps getting the tough overs and doing what we need from him.”
The 48-run win leaves the Scorchers overwhelming favourites to secure a record-extending sixth BBL title, having ensured a home final on Sunday.
The Sixers, meanwhile, must lick their wounds and prepare to face the winner of Wednesday night’s Hobart Hurricanes-Melbourne Stars Knockout final on Friday night at the SCG, with the victor there to face the Scorchers two days later.
However, it was no fault of their bowlers, who, led by two wickets apiece from Mitchell Starc, Ben Dwarshuis and Jack Edwards, restricted the usually freewheeling Scorchers to their second-lowest first innings score of the season.
Their disastrous run chase was summed up by a shambolic run out where Sean Abbott’s bat caught in the ground as he attempted to slide in for a second run, beaten home by Laurie Evans’ throw and Inglis’ sharp glovework.
For much of the innings, Smith was the great white hope, his outstanding form continuing with a typically enterprising 37 off just 24 balls – at the time of his dismissal, he had scored exactly half the Sixers’ runs, while no one else managed more than 15.
Their total of 99 is the equal second-lowest of the BBL season in a completed innings, as well as the Sixers’ worst score in nearly four years.
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