Champions, again! Scorchers claim sixth BBL title

After skittling the Sixers for 132 in their 20 overs, Australian T20 captain Mitch Marsh crashed the first ball of the run chase over the square leg rope and the Scorchers never looked back.

Marsh slammed a further five boundaries in his 44 from 43 balls as he and Kiwi blaster Finn Allen (36) took the home side to the cusp of victory with an opening stand of 80.

Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis (29 not out) then clinched the KFC BBL|15 championship with a whopping 15 balls to spare, launching Ben Dwarshuis over the sight screen to secure a six-wicket win.

English left-armer and player-of-the-match David Payne did the damage with the ball after Perth opted to bowl at Optus Stadium, his double strike in the first over of the Power Surge pulling the Sixers back after Aussie star Steve Smith (24 from 13 balls) yet again gave his side a strong start.

He again top scored for the visiting side's innings (equal with Josh Philippe and captain Moises Henriques), making in the sixth time in six matches this season that Smith has done so since joining the team after the Ashes.

Jack Edwards provided the Sixers with a rare highlight with a one-handed superman grab at cover to remove Allen in the ninth over to give Mitchell Starc a wicket in his first Big Bash Final since helping down the Scorchers in BBL|01 to claim the inaugural title.

Sean Abbott removed Aaron Hardie cheaply, but Marsh – who also top scored with 77 for the Scorchers in the BBL|01 defeat – stood firm to take the Scorchers to within a few hits of more BBL silverware to delight a record home crowd of 55,018 that had packed into Optus Stadium.

Much of what was the BBL's fourth highest crowd ever stayed around long after Inglis hit the winning six to witness Ashton Turner hoist the trophy for the third time as Scorchers captain – the most successful in the club's decorated history.

Fittingly, it was Cooper Connolly at the other end when the Scorchers sealed their place back at the top following a rapid three-year regeneration, their first title since BBL|12 when as a 19-year-old he inspired an epic fightback to blow the lid off Optus Stadium.

"It's a really satisfying feeling," Turner told broadcaster Fox Cricket post-match.

"A mountain of work has gone on the field but also behind the scenes to allow us to play the cricket that's been good enough to win this competition again.

"It feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders; we have high expectations and to be able to deliver on those expectations is really satisfying.

"Tonight's the culmination of what's been 10 months of planning and preparation … and the effort that's gone into getting us through the last six to seven weeks has been immense."

The Scorchers now own six of the 15 BBL trophies contested, taking them past India's Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, New Zealand's Auckland Aces and the Caribbean's Trinbago Knight Riders (all five titles) as the most successful T20 franchise in world, and level with South African provincial sides the Lions and Titans (both six).

Turner earlier had no hesitation in following the season-long trend of bowling first after winning just his third bat flip of the campaign, with the match starting on time despite afternoon showers delaying the flip by 20 minutes.

Smith extracted his revenge on Mahli Beardman (2-29) after his dismissal to him last Tuesday, welcoming the 20-year-old quick into the attack by smashing him for consecutive boundaries to open his account – the first over cover and the second powerfully down the ground.

The Test No.4 lived dangerously as he whipped Jhye Richardson for six just over Connolly's head, but he couldn't escape a second time owing to an excellent review by Scorchers skipper.

Hardie (1-16) claimed the prized scalp of Smith who was struck on the pad trying to work an off-cutter into a vacant area at midwicket. Given not out initially by umpire Sam Nogajski, Smith was sent on his way when ball tracking revealed it was hitting enough of the leg stump bail to be overturned.

It concluded another sensational Big Bash stint for the Sixers' prolific opener who finished the team's highest run-scorer for the season (299 runs at 59.80 in six innings) despite playing less than half of their 13 games following his international commitments.

Philippe came and went for a run-a-ball 24, while opener Daniel Hughes couldn't make the most of an early life courtesy of a mistimed jump by Brody Couch, who held his place in the Scorchers side despite Joel Paris being named in the squad for the decider following a groin injury.

It was the start of a horror afternoon in the field for Couch who also missed a run out and kicked a four over the rope when trying to pick up a ball at deep cover off the blade of Henriques (24).

But Payne (3-18) had the Sixers in a world of pain when he accounted for both Lachy Shaw (14) and Henriques after they called the Power Surge, unable to combat his onslaught of slower balls on another sluggish Perth pitch.

Richardson (3-32) made it a third wicket in the Surge when his short ball hurried Edwards into a pull shot that ballooned to Connolly in the ring on the leg-side.

Connolly was in the thick of it once more when he caught Joel Davies inside the boundary at midwicket in the 17th over. But the Sixers young gun survived when replays showed the Scorchers allrounder had grounded the ball when stopping his momentum as he slid towards the rope.

It was the second time this season the Scorchers, and Payne, had been denied a wicket by the third umpire for a grounded ball during the catching attempt after Ollie Peake survived during the Renegades' thrilling final ball win earlier this month.

Davies added a boundary over the keeper's head a few balls later before chopping on to Richardson, his 19 runs allowing the Sixers to limp to 132 by the time Ben Dwarshuis was run out on the final ball of the innings.

There were some later jitters as Marsh and Turner (2) fell with victory in sight, but the damage was done with the ball and at the top of the order, with Marsh the first to get to Inglis in the middle as he was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the winning runs to give one of the world's best teams yet another addition to their trophy cabinet.