Perth Scorchers secured successive Big Bash League titles with a last-ball win over Sydney Sixers in a thrilling final at Canberra this morning.
Moises Henriques squandered a run-out chance to take the contest to a Super Over as Yasir Arafat hit the winning runs off the final ball of Brett Lee's career.
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Lee had previously taken two wickets in two balls when the Scorchers were tied on Sydney's score of 147, which was only made possible by 77 from Henriques.
The Sixers captain chose to bat first after winning the toss, but they lost Nottinghamshire pair Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels early as they struggled to adjust to the pace of an unusually-slow Australian pitch.
Henriques and Nic Maddinson (19) started the rebuilding job from 7-2, but two more quick wickets reduced Sydney to 49-4.
A 98-run partnership between wicketkeeper Henriques and Ryan Carters (35) took the Sixers to a competitive total, with the Australian international hitting the only two sixes of the innings before being run out on the final ball.
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Perth made a subdued start to their chase, but always maintained wickets in hand as Michael Klinger and Shaun Marsh put on 70 for the opening stand.
After Klinger had been caught by Sean Abbott off the bowling of Lee for 33, Scorchers captain Adam Voges hit a quickfire 20 to take his side to within striking distance, with plenty left in the hutch.
An inspired Henriques turned to Test off-spinner Nathan Lyon to bowl the penultimate over, and he had Marsh (77 from 59 balls) and Ashton Turner caught on the boundary in the space of three balls.
Nathan Coulter-Nile slogged a six off the final ball of the 19th to leave Perth requiring eight off the last, and England batsman Michael Carberry bravely ramped Lee to the boundary off the first ball to reduce Perth nerves.
Scampering running took the Scorchers to within one with three balls remaining, but Australian fast bowling legend Lee had something up his sleeve in his swansong before his retirement from all formats.
The 38-year-old bowled Coulter-Nile, who played an ill-advised ramp shot to a yorker, and then sent Sam Whiteman's stumps flying to take the game to the last ball.
Arafat dug out a full delivery to a fielder at short mid-wicket. He gathered cleanly and threw to Henriques at the stumps, but the Sydney skipper fumbled the ball when Arafat would have been run out by yards.
Joe Fish
