Big Bash final: Laurie Evans leads Perth Scorchers to win over Sydney Sixers

Melbourne (Agencies): Perth Scorchers won the Big Bash with a 79-run win in the final against Sydney Sixers after being rescued from 25-4 by Surrey’s Laurie Evans.
Evans made 76 not out from 41 balls, adding 104 with captain Ashton Turner, who scored 54, to take Perth to 171-6.
The Sixers, badly hit by injuries and Covid cases, were bowled out for 92 to surrender the crown they had won in each of the previous two seasons. The Scorchers, beaten in last year’s final, win a record fourth title.
They do so despite playing only one home match all season because of Western Australia’s tight Covid rules. Whereas they would have normally hosted the final, it was played at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
The Scorchers finished top of the league table, with 11 wins from 14 games, then twice beat the second-placed Sixers in the play-offs to take their first title since 2017. The Sixers were so depleted that all-rounder Dan Christian tweeted before the game offering “free beer” to anyone who wanted to play for them.
They were denied a request to include Australia batter Steve Smith in their team because he was not listed in their squad at the beginning of the tournament and instead had to call-up Nicholas Bertus for only his second career T20 match, Justin Avendano, who had previously played for Melbourne Stars this season, and had assistant coach Jay Lenton keeping wicket.
Despite the adversity, they took four wickets in the first six overs, at which point Evans joined Turner to begin the fightback.
Evans struck four fours and four sixes as Perth took 103 from the second 10 overs of their innings.
Daniel Hughes made 42 for Sixers, but they crucially lost captain Moises Henriques, lbw to Ashton Agar for seven, and the experienced Dan Christian was brilliantly caught at deep mid-wicket by Kurtis Patterson off AJ Tye for three. Seamer Tye claimed 3-15, with the Sixers losing their last seven wickets for 30 runs.