The final weekend of the regular BBL season has ended up as a straight-forward riddle with a messy number of answers. Two matches remain, yet four finishing positions and three separate hosting rights are still floating about.
First up, Perth Scorchers meet Melbourne Stars at Optus Stadium on Saturday. A win gives Perth top spot and a home Qualifier on 20 January; defeat, and the Stars pinch that privilege. Less obviously, the result will also colour the Hurricanes’ fate. Hobart, despite sitting first, can finish as low as fourth if the Stars triumph and Sydney Sixers pull off back-to-back victories.
Sixers play the Thunder at the SCG on Friday night, then board a flight north for a genuine eliminator against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on Sunday afternoon. Whatever happens in the derby, the Heat–Sixers contest is winner-takes-all for fourth place. Brisbane kept themselves alive courtesy of that three-run nail-biter against the Hurricanes, Zaman Khan closing things out with a sparkling final over.
Finn Allen’s hundred against the Renegades on Thursday ensured Perth are already guaranteed a top-two slot. The New Zealander and Mitchell Marsh both sat out the second innings at Marvel Stadium, prompting understandable eyebrow raises. Allen later played the moment down.
“I had a little bit of a hammy niggle on this side in Hobart earlier in the year, so it was just a little bit of a scare,” Allen told AAP. “It was just cramp, but I didn’t want to take the risk. [Marsh’s injury] was just an external blow to the heel like we saw in the footage. I think he’ll be okay.”
Allen, Marsh and the rest of the Scorchers group had a long flight home on Friday before a 5.15 pm local start the very next day. Josh Inglis, rested against the Renegades after a chat with Cricket Australia’s medics, returns to strengthen an already deep squad.
“They’re a proper, well-rounded side, so I think they’ll be extremely competitive on Saturday,” Allen added of the Stars. “We’ll fly back, rest up and go again. I’m pretty confident in our boys; we’ve got a pretty competitive squad and ‘Ingo’ is back, which helps.”
The Stars provide an awkward obstacle. Their season began with four straight wins, a wobble of three losses followed, and now they have strung together another couple. Glenn Maxwell’s touch has improved week-on-week, while Nathan Coulter-Nile’s economy rate keeps the back end tidy. They have not faced the Scorchers at all this summer, leaving both camps to rely on video and memory rather than recent head-to-head clues.
Beyond the obvious glory of finishing first, logistics matter. If Perth stay home they avoid two potential cross-country trips and can bank on 40-odd thousand in orange shirts roaring them on. The visiting side, by contrast, must fly five hours west, then potentially back east again for the Challenger or Final. Coaches rarely admit it publicly, but those dead hours in the air weigh on bowlers’ hamstrings and batters’ ability to find rhythm in the nets.
For Hobart, the calculation is simpler yet more frustrating. They cannot influence anything further. Matthew Wade’s men wrapped up their schedule early, striding into the sheds three wins clear, only to watch other teams steadily close the gap. Should the Sixers grab their two wins and the Stars pip the Scorchers, the Hurricanes slide to third; if the Perth weather gods intervene with a wash-out, a further drop to fourth is on the cards.
BBL Finals Schedule
20 January – Qualifier: 1st v 2nd
21 January – Knockout: 3rd v 4th
23 January – Challenger: loser of Qualifier v winner of Knockout
25 January – Final: winner of Qualifier v winner of Challenger
Steven Smith’s return for the Sixers adds another layer. He slotted in quietly on Wednesday, tinkered with his trigger movements, and by Thursday morning was already previewing his match-up with Spencer Johnson’s left-arm pace. Smith seldom says much in public, yet his presence alone lifts that dressing-room hum a notch.
Thunder skipper Chris Green expects a sharp contest at the SCG. “They’ve suddenly got an Aussie middle order and an Aussie quick available, so we’ll have to be right on our plans,” he said yesterday. The Thunder, already out of contention, can spoil their city rivals’ fun and indirectly help Hobart breathe easier.
Heat captain Colin Munro kept things calm when asked about Sunday’s decider. “We know exactly what’s required—win and we’re in,” he smiled. He was also quick to praise Zaman Khan’s composure at the death against the Hurricanes. “The kid has serious ice in the veins,” he said, before admitting the squad has “left ourselves no wriggle room, but we’re still alive”.
And that, really, is the theme of this scrambled conclusion to BBL-12: still alive. Two nights, two matches, several branching storylines. By late Sunday evening the playoff ladder will be set, phones will start pinging with flight itineraries, and at least one proud dressing room will be sitting quietly, wondering how a full season of work vanished inside forty overs.
