Lehmann's last-ball six clinches thriller

The match in a tweet: Lehmann lashes last-ball 6! Season over for 'Canes, Strikers lock in home final as seemingly routine run chase of 144 ends with a bang!

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Lehmann with THAT six // Getty Images

The moment: Jake Lehmann had never faced a ball in his brief BBL career. Well, there's a first time for everything. With the Strikers having tapered off badly in their run chase, the situation became far more dire than anyone could have predicted. Brad Hodge was out in the penultimate over, then Alex Ross followed suit from the third-last ball of the match. It left five runs needed from two balls. Tim Ludeman hit a single, leaving Lehmann needing four to win. He got one just about in the slot from Simon Milenko, swung hard, and his sliced effort over extra cover carried, carried ... and carried all the way over the rope. We've seen some thrilling finishes in Big Bash history, but this was right up there with the best. 

The collapse: Tim Paine continued his good form with 45 but his decision to push for a second run on the arm of Michael Neser was the beginning of the end for the Hurricanes. From his run-out with the score at 2-92, they fell to 143 all out. It was a target that never looked likely to trouble the Strikers, until Tim Ludeman and Brad Hodge stalled somewhat in the latter stages of their run chase, paving the way for the match's stunning conclusion. 

The heroes: Lehmann stole the show from the one ball he faced! But key to the Strikers' victory earlier in proceedings was Adil Rashid, who is deservedly back on top the wicket-takers' pile after bagging another two tonight – and his wickets were a sight to behold. Rashid entered the attack in the eight over and immediately delighted the 49,115-strong crowd, knocking over Jono Wells (20 from 13) with a beautiful wrong'un and then trapping Dan Christian plumb lbw with a top spinner. The Englishman now has 14 wickets for the tournament and is rivalling Andre Russell as the signing of BBL|05.

Watch: Rashid returns to top of BBL pile

The debut: Strikers skipper Hodge had informed viewers that young Strikers quick Greg West had tried to take his head off during what was meant to be a "gentle" pre-season net session, and the 21-year-old left-armer didn't disappoint, taking 2-24 in four overs. 

Watch: West impresses on Big Bash debut

West bowled with pace and aggression, grabbing the early wicket of Ben Dunk and engaging in some not-so-friendly banter with Michael Hill, who later told boundary reporter Mel Jones he didn't think the paceman had bowled particularly well, despite Hill himself being West's second wicket.

Watch: West and Hill face off

The support cast: Tim Ludeman (57no) has come good for the Strikers at the right end of the tournament, and the keeper-batsman played a crucial hand in the run chase with his second-straight half-century. Hodge made a crucial 28 from 24 and Travis Head chipped in with a quick-fire 25. Earlier, Neser (3-26) took the key top-order wicket of Kumar Sangakkara before returning to help Ben Laughlin (2-31) clean up the tail.

Watch: Ludeman's unbeaten half-century

The stat: Oddly enough, Strikers players boast the three highest strike-rates of BBL|05: Lehmann's 600, Kane Richardson's 350 and Laughlin's 300.

The consolation effort: Paine deserves credit for his effort at the top of the order, where he's been a one-man band this season amid a series of failures from Ben Dunk and Kumar Sangakkara. Hats off also to Simon Milenko (3-25), whose impressive spell on debut for the Canes helped transform the match into a thriller. 

Watch: Paine falls short of half-century

Watch: Milenko impresses with three wickets

The raw speed: Shaun Tait has bent his back consistently through BBL|05 with mixed results. This over cost him 14 but it was impressive nonetheless, if only for the fact that with speeds up to 155kph, we reckon it has to be the quickest of the tournament.

Watch: Quickest over of the Big Bash?

The wash-up: That's it, game over for the Hurricanes, who end a disappointing season on a painfully appropriate note. An early-season run of three straight wins (after being bowled out for 91 in their opening match) had the men in purple dreaming big, but the season ended with four consecutive defeats as the 'Cane train derailed spectacularly. The Strikers end the regular season against the Renegades next Monday at Etihad, a warm-up ahead of their home semi-final later that same week.

Watch: Full match highlights