BBL Final: Umpire Phil Gillespie embarrassingly falls while running backwards, leaves commentators in splits

As it panned out, the 11th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) was won by Perth Scorchers in a one-sided encounter against Sydney Sixers. The finale of Australia’s showpiece T20 event went in favour of Perth as they overcame the Sixers’ challenge, beating them by 79 runs.

While the pressure of the final ran over the players’ heads, umpires too were not spared. The umpiring in this year’s BBL remained under the scanner but a funny incident involving umpire Phil Gillespie made the headlines in the last match of the tournament.

During the final delivery of the Perth Scorchers’ innings, batter Laurie Evans smashed the ball towards the mid-on region. Anticipating that the throw would come at the non-striker’s end, umpire Phil Gillespie ran backwards in an attempt to avoid the collision.

However, Gillespie’s move backfired as he lost his balance, running backwards while keeping a watch on the fielder’s throw. Eventually, the BBL umpire fell on the ground as the commentators burst out laughing.

Perth Scorchers crowned BBL champions for the fourth time

Perth Scorchers led by Ashton Turner won their fourth BBL title, most by a franchise in the competition. Opting to bowl first, Sydney Sixers spun a web of spin in the early overs as they reduced the opposition team to 25/4 in the powerplay. However, Laurie Evans and skipper Ashton Turner led a fightback with the bat as the duo recorded a 104-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Perth finished their innings at the score of 171.

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Chasing 172, Sydney Sixers were never in the game. Daniel Hughes (42) and Jay Lenton (10*) were the only two batters who made it to the double figures. Other nine players registered an overall score of 34 as Sydney got bundled out for 92, losing the finale of the tournament by 79 runs.