James Bazley takes screamer to seal Adelaide’s win
The attacker’s field player juggled the ball in the deep
Perth Scorchers’ three-peat dreams are now over
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James Bazley took an incredible catch on Saturday night to seal the Adelaide Strikers’ shock victory over the Perth Scorchers in the BBL knockout final.
Chasing 156 in the knockout final, the Scorchers were 0-38 before being bowled out to 105 to end their chase for a third successive BBL title.
Bazley produced a boundary line catch he won’t soon forget during Cooper Connolly’s last wicket.
He remained incredibly calm and took the catch, but was unable to secure it while in the field of play.
Bazley then threw the ball into the air before landing outside the rope, before completing the catch in the field of play moments later.
Forward fielder James Bazley had to step back into the field of play to secure the catch
“Great catch,” one fan wrote on X.
“That’s something,” said another.
It was a second successive defeat for the Scorchers at the former fortress Optus Stadium, having tasted defeat just once in their previous 18 games.
The Strikers play Brisbane on the Gold Coast on Monday, with the winners meeting Sydney Sixers in an SCG final on Wednesday.
The visitors looked dead in the water at 4-48 in the 10th over after being sent in but rallied from 7-155 despite the absence of star pair Chris Lynn and Adam Hose.
It proved more than enough for the Strikers, who spun a web around the Scorchers as leg-spinners Cameron Boyce (3-20) and Lloyd Pope (4-24) silenced the partisan crowd.
Missing Laurie Evans and Zak Crawley, the Scorchers’ new batting unit could not fire despite debutant Sam Fanning’s fluid 20-ball 31 providing a viable platform.
It was the introduction of leg spin at both ends that turned the tide, with Pope picking up Marcus Harris (eight) and Aaron Hardie (six), while Boyce dismissed Sam Whiteman (two) and Josh Inglis (12).
Lloyd Pope broke through the Scorchers’ middle order on Saturday evening
The Perth Scorchers’ three-peat dreams in the Big Bash League are now officially over
Captain Matt Short then dived to his left to dismiss Nick Hobson for four off his own bowling, before Ashton Agar’s duck left the hosts 7-78.
Cooper Connolly (31 off 22 balls) struck out to give Perth some hope but Pope resurfaced with foul-uns that threw AJ Tye (eight) and Jason Behrendorff for a duck to complete a devastating spell.
Connolly went down swinging, while James Bazley calmly flicked a catch to himself as he held the boundary tight to seal the win.
The hosts’ pace and swing put them on top early on, with Tye producing perhaps the ball of the tournament, in-form knocking over Short for a run-a-ball 13.
The veteran unexpectedly floated a 70mph slower ball up that fell back into Short – only one ball has swung more often this BBL season, according to Fox Sports – to topple him.
Jake Weatherald’s blistering innings (56 off 32) was the back-line Adelaide needed, Ben Manenti (23 off 20) and Henry Thornton (28 off 21) chipping in with crucial late runs.
“It’s funny what can happen,” Boyce told Fox Sports.
‘You are always hopeful; 150 isn’t a great score, but it’s the way our season went.
“The guys were always confident and… we rode that wave.
“Our plan was just to be different. A lot of teams come here with a high pace and… it can work against you.
“I love Popey, we worked very well together.”