Sydney Sixers had the gun paceman, but it was the Perth Scorchers’s unheralded quicks who fired the decisive shots in Monday’s Big Bash League T20 cricket clash at the SCG.
Renowned for successfully defending low-scoring totals, Perth were restricted to 7-135, but bowled the previously unbeaten Sixers out for 99 in the 18th over.
“I thought we were 30 short,” Scorchers captain Adam Voges told Network Ten.
It was the Sixers first loss in four games and defending champion Perth’s second victory in three games, in their first away match of this season’s tournament.
The Sixers boasted a Test strength pace attack in Mitchell Starc, Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger, plus two fast medium Australian representatives in Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott.
Conversely, Pakistan veteran Yasir Arafat was the only international quick in the Scorchers’s battery, but it was Matt Dixon (2-22) and Andrew Tye (2-12) who did much of the damage, as the Sixers at one stage lost 8-40.
Dixon,in his second and third overs, removed dangerous left-handed openers Michael Lumb (8) and Nic Maddinson (2), the latter to a sensational running catch at long on by Ashton Agar.
Tye ran out dangerous Riki Wessels after he reverse swept two extraordinary sixes and then removed Jordan Silk and Sean Abbott.
Arafat chipped in with the valuable wicket of Sixers captain and middle order linchpin Moises Henriques in the second strange dismissal in as many nights of BBL action.
A night after Glenn Maxwell inexplicably shouldered arms to a Ryan Duffield delivery, Henriques rocked back in his crease and trod on his stumps.
Opener Marcus Harris, with 36 off 26 balls, was the only one of the seven Scorchers batsmen with double figures to get over 30.
Starc followed up his spectacular dismissal of Jacques Kallis in Saturday’s derby with a double wicket over, including a trademark yorker to remove Sam Whiteman, who had earlier top-edged a Brett Lee bouncer into his helmet.
Starc went for 11 in his first over, but conceded just 10 off his last three and drew another tweeted comment on his efforts from Shane Warne.
“Be nice if Starc bowled in a Test match like he does with a white ball,” Warne tweeted.
“Awesome to watch and aggressive, my pleasure for firing you up.”
MORE TO COME
