Perth Scorchers won the Big Bash League with a 79-run win against Sydney Sixers in the final of the 2021/22 edition at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne after being recovered from 25/4 by Laurie Evans.
Evans made an unbeaten 41-ball 76, included four sixes and as many fours, and added 104 with Ashton Turner, who scored 35-ball 54, to take the Scorchers to 171/6. The Sixers, badly hit by injuries and Covid-19 cases, were skittled out for 92 in 16.2 overs. They surrendered the crown they had won in the previous two editions, while the Scorchers, beaten in last year's final, won a record fourth title.
With 11 wins from 14 games, the Scorchers had finished top of the points table. After that, they beat the second-placed Sixers twice in the Playoffs to win their first title since 2017.
The Sixers removed Kurtis Patterson, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, and Colin Munro inside Powerplay after Moises Henriques asked the Scorchers to bat. Evans and Turner then steadied the ship, and got support from Ashton Agar (15 in nine balls) to post a challenging total. They added 103 in the last 10 overs.
The chase was never on the cards for the Sixers. They kept losing wickets in the regular intervals, and were eventually bowled out for a meagre total. Daniel Hughes (42 in 33) was the only Sixers batter who crossed 15, while Jay Lenton, the assistant coach who kept wickets, remained unbeaten on 10.
For the Scorchers, Andrew Tye did the most damage, with 3-15 in three overs. Jhye Richardson took two wickets, while Jason Behrendorff, Turner, Peter Hatzoglou, and Agar had one each.
Brief Scores: Perth Scorchers 171/6 in 20 overs (Evans 76*; Lyon 2-24) beat Sydney Sixers 92 in 16.2 overs (Hughes 42; Tye 3-15) by 79 runs. Player of the Match: Laurie Evans.
Perth Scorchers won the Big Bash League 2021/22. Player of the Series: Ben McDermott.