The 11th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) came to a close on Friday, with the Perth Scorchers completing a resounding win over the Sydney Sixers to clinch their 4th BBL trophy.
The win comes after a long time for the Western Australia-based franchise; the last time they managed to get their hands on the coveted silverware was way back in the 6th edition. The sixers, meanwhile, will be ruing their wasted opportunity of having completed a memorable hat-trick of BBL wins.
Perth Scorchers become the most successful BBL franchise
Perth and WA players have always been passionate about their game, and it clearly shows from the celebrations they have partook in. To commemorate their state team’s glorious achievement, for instance, Perth’s Optus stadium was shining bright orange through the entire night. Talk about people who love their cricket!
But there was one Scorchers’ player, who stood head and shoulders above everyone else as far as the excitement levels went. Shortly after they had won the tournament, Perth’s Jhye Richardson was seen running around excitedly and giving an interview to 7 Cricket’s Brad Hodge. What was particularly odd about that, you ask?
Well, the fact that Richardson had his nose bleeding while chatting with Hodgy surely takes the cake! As it turned out, his teammate Colin Munro had charged to bear-hug him from square-leg; but in the process, he shouldered Jhye hard on his nose and made him bleed!
Jhye Richardson interviews with a bleeding nose
When celebrations go wrong, featuring Jhye Richardson 😂 pic.twitter.com/xAkvP59fqy
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 28, 2022
“Munro charged at me from square-leg, and he shouldered me on the nose, so I’ve got blood there. But it’s all good,” an out-of-breath Richardson said. He further reflected on the crazy time he has had trying to manage his national and BBL commitments.
“It’s always special to come back, play two games, and win,” he told Hodge when he asked about his memorable fifer in the Ashes. “Special mention to guys like Kells (Matt Kelly) and Lance (Morris), who were awesome all year. Just a shame they got COVID. But yeah, I love this team. It’s perfect”.
Match Summary
Jhye picked up two quick wickets towards the end of the Sixers’ innings to fast-track the Scorchers celebrations. Chasing 172, none of the Sixers’ batters barring Daniel Hughes (42 off 33) managed to get going. Earlier in the day, Sixers had managed to stranglehold Perth’s batting and had them down to 25-4 at the end of the powerplay. It was a stunning rearguard action from captain Ashton Turner (54 off 35) and PoTM Laurie Evans (76* off 41) that allowed the Scorchers to post a competitive total.
Brief scores: Scorchers 171/6 (Evans 76*, Lyon 2/24) beat Sixers (D Hughes 42, AJ Tye 3/15) by 79-runs.
