English left-armer earns player-of-the-final honours after bamboozling the Sixers with his off-pace deliveries
'Never forgotten': Why two-time champ wished for Perth reunion
David Payne quipped he may need to 'shorten his run up' after his unplayable off-cutters powered Perth Scorchers to the top of the Big Bash once again.
The English fast bowler was crowned player of the KFC BBL|15 Final for his 3-18 (4) that led the way in rolling Sydney Sixers for 132 in Sunday's decider.
It was a total that proved no match of the Scorchers' powerful batting line-up as internationals Mitch Marsh (44) and Finn Allen (36) crashed an 80-run opening stand in the first eight overs of the run chase before the home side romped to victory by four wickets with 15 balls to spare.
After Perth skipper Ashton Turner opted to bowl on another sluggish Optus Stadium pitch on winning just his third bat flip for the season, Payne took advantage of the home conditions to stifle the Sixers batters.
Of the 24 balls he sent down in the season finale, more than 75 per cent of them were off-pace deliveries ranging between 105 and 120kph that his opponents had no answers for.
Josh Philippe was the first to succumb to Payne's slower ball when he chipped a simple caught and bowled back to the towering left-armer, before Lachy Shaw and Sixers skipper Moises Henriques both found Mitch Marsh at point after mistiming off-cutter.
Payne almost had a fourth wicket when he had Joel Davies caught at deep midwicket, but the Sixers youngster survived when replays showed Cooper Connolly had grounded the ball while sliding to stop his momentum before the rope.
"It's been a weapon I've had for a long, long time," Payne, speaking post-match to broadcaster Fox Cricket, said of his off-cutter.
"I think it suits the Optus Stadium pitches, that's what I'm going to be telling them anyway and hopefully they can keep bringing me back year after year.
"I'd love to keep coming back here because I love this team a lot.
"I'll keep rolling out those off-spinners – the boys just tell me I may as well shorten my run up."
Payne, a veteran of 233 T20 matches mostly with Gloucestershire and Hundred franchise Welsh Fire, was also part of the Scorchers previous BBL triumph in BBL|12.
That day, on a free-scoring pitch, hit took the wicket of big-hitting opener Josh Brown in the second over after he hit 25 runs from the first 12 balls of the match. It helped hold Brisbane Heat to 7-175 that the Scorchers chased down in the final over thanks to 19-year-old Cooper Connolly's breakthrough cameo.
Payne had a stint with Adelaide Strikers the season after, but said he always wanted to get back to Perth.
"It means a lot because three years ago they welcomed me with open arms and I've never forgotten that," he said.
"I've wanted to come back ever since to try and help the Perth team again, so I was elated when I got that opportunity to do it again.
"I didn't think it could get better than last time but to do it again is very special.
"Teams like this, I always think it's about the environment and the culture that WA have – you notice it as soon as you come into the dressing room.
"The respect that the players have for the coaching staff, the coaching staff have for the players, and that goes all the way to the top (of the organisation).
"That sort of thing is very special how that's created and to get the buy in from all the team, I can’t speak highly enough of WA and Perth and it's just amazing to be a part of that culture."
Payne, Test quick Jhye Richardson and WA veteran Joel Paris, have been vital experienced heads in a revamped bowling attack that contained younger quicks Mahli Beardman and Brody Couch, and saw Connolly take the first over with his left-arm spin for most of the season.
Adam Voges, head coach of the Scorchers past three championships and a player in their first three, said the planning for tonight's title started before the end of last season when they made the difficult decision to part ways with club legends Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye, who had taken more than 300 Big Bash wickets between them.
But it now appears a masterstroke as just 12 months after missing the finals for the third time in their history, they are kings of the BBL once more.
"You go back to the (overseas player) draft in June and even the planning before that; you finish this campaign in January or February and you start building your list straight away," Voges told Fox Cricket.
"We pivoted a little bit; we lost a bit of experience out of our bowling attack, and we looked at things a little bit differently.
"We had Mitch Marsh come in a play a full tournament, which was obviously a massive bonus for us and the way that our top seven clicked and they way that our young bowlers grew with every game they played throughout the tournament, it couldn't have worked out better."
Overseas direct signing Allen also clicked in his second season with the club as his 36 runs in the BBL|15 Final took him past David Warner (433) for the most runs this season (466). It was also the most runs by a Scorchers man in a single BBL season.
"Finn deserves all the credit," Voges said. "He has come back a more complete player.
"He learnt a lot from last season … he's been brutal over east where the pitches have been consistent.
"We've had slightly different wickets here (at Optus Stadium) this season, they haven't been all that easy to bat on, but it looks like he's batting on a different wicket at times … and Finn's played it as well as anyone this season."
BBL|15 finals schedule
Qualifier: Perth Scorchers beat Sydney Sixers by 48 runs
Knockout: Hobart Hurricanes beat Melbourne Stars by three runs (DLS method)
Challenger: Sydney Sixers beat Hobart Hurricanes by 57 runs
Final: Perth Scorchers beat Sydney Sixers by six wickets
KFC BBL|15 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SCO
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.363 | 0 | 14 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.605 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
HUR
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.759 | 0 | 12 |
|
5
HEA
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.431 | 0 | 10 |
|
6
STR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.231 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.202 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | -1.212 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points