The Perth Scorchers are through to the BBL final after defeating the Sydney Sixers by 49 runs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
The Scorchers won the toss and elected to bat, with star wicketkeeper Josh Inglis and former Test batsman Kurtis Patterson making 79 and 64 respectively to lead the table-toppers to a score of 3/189 from 20 overs.
In response to that considerable total, the Sixers never got going as they were bowled out for 140 from 19.2 overs, with bowler Ben Dwarshuis proving the reigning premier’s best batter as he put together a swashbuckling 66 from 29 balls at number nine.
With the Sixers struggling with the bat, more scrutiny came for Cricket Australia after their call to ban Steve Smith from returning to the side after the Australia v New Zealand white-ball series was postponed.
While Smith isn't contracted by the Sixers this season - as it was assumed he’d be unavailable due to international commitments - Cricket Australia didn’t let the former Australian captain make a Big Bash return despite the club having a spare roster spot to fill.
Sixers all-rounder Dan Christian said he and his teammates found the governing body’s decision “really disappointing” pre-game.
“It sounds pretty ridiculous that one of the world is stopped from playing in the domestic competition,” Christian told SEN.
“It makes no sense to us as players. It’s really disappointing from our point of views that that’s where it stands right now.
“We’ve talking the last couple of years about having access to the best players in the world, particularly an overseas perspective and it’s one of the big criticisms of the Big Bash.
“Having played in a lot of overseas competitions all the other competitions have the best local players playing, so the IPL has all the Indian players, the Caribbean league has all the West Indian players playing, whereas we’ve never really had access to our Aussie guys.
“Now we’re going to have access to the Aussie players because this Australia and New Zealand series has been postponed and yet we’re going to ban them from playing a domestic competition?
“It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Having finished in the top two, the Sixers will next play the winner of Sunday’s Thunder v Strikers clash to see who meets the Scorchers in the decider on January 28.