MITCHELL JOHNSON: Sydney Sixers’ dummy spit over having to travel to Perth twice during BBL finals was petty

The dust has settled on another Big Bash League final and, unsurprisingly, one talking point dominated the aftermath - travel.

For the vanquished Sydney Sixers, the discussion centred on a demanding finals schedule and the kilometres logged in the lead-up. It’s a fair observation. It was a tough run. But it also opens up a few uncomfortable questions that need to be asked.

If travel was such a concern, why wasn’t it raised before the season began? Why wait until you’re deep in the finals, when the margins are thin and emotions are raw?

The rules, the structure of the finals, and the pathways depending on where you finish are known well in advance. Everyone signs up to the same system.

When the conversation only surfaces when the Sixers were in the thick of it – refusing to be part of the traditional captains media opportunity the day before the match or after the loss - it’s always going to sound reactive, even if the fatigue is real.

There’s another angle here that doesn’t get enough air. When Perth Scorchers travel, and they do, constantly, it rarely becomes a headline. In most, if not all, Australian domestic sporting competitions, Perth-based teams cross the country more than anyone, season after season. Finals, regular season, short turnarounds, it’s normal.

Would the commentary have been the same if the roles were reversed? Would there have been the same sympathy if Perth were flying east twice in the space of a week to face a rested Sydney side? History suggests probably not, and if there was, probably not to the same extent.

And to be clear: this isn’t saying the Sixers lost because of travel. They didn’t. They were outplayed, even with a team stacked with Australia stars.

Then there’s the COVID chapter. Perth teams in many sports spent time stuck in quarantine, isolated from home, families, and routine, playing under conditions that were anything but ideal.

The Scorchers spent nearly the entire 2021-22 season on the road. Not once do I remember a public campaign or a rush to Cricket Australia demanding change. It was a very different situation but you get the idea. Maybe conversations that happened behind closed doors, and that’s the point. As players, you get on with it. Life isn’t fair. Sport certainly isn’t perfect.

The irony is that the Sixers’ situation could have looked very different. Win the first finals game and the path smooths out. Lose it, and suddenly the hard road appears. That’s not travel conspiring against you, that’s the ladder doing its job.

The scheduling of course played it’s part. CA’s recent unwillingness to stage games on Australia Day – once a cherished highlight of our summer of cricket – meant that the final couldn’t be staged on Monday.

An extra 24 hours would have suited whichever team had to back up from a Friday night Challenger and travel for the decider.

What Sunday night showed, emphatically, was why Perth sport is different. A record crowd, 55,000 strong, turned Optus Stadium into a wall of noise. That’s not just cricket fans turning up; that’s a State backing its team. WA supporters are passionate across all sports, and they understand what it means to travel, to sacrifice, and to commit. From juniors and their families to professionals, heading east is just part of the deal.

And to be clear: this isn’t saying the Sixers lost because of travel. They didn’t. They were outplayed, even with a team stacked with Australia stars.

Perth’s performance was clinical. The decision to bowl first, despite history favouring batting first, told you everything. It wasn’t about what’s always been done; it was about tactics and belief in each other, in their plans, and in their execution.

What stood out most were the Scorchers’ partnerships. Batting and bowling combinations working together, calm heads doing the basics under pressure. Big names met a collective that was driven by one thing: beating Sydney. That rivalry has always been there, but the Big Bash has put it front and centre.

These two clubs are the benchmark and a sixth grand final between them underlined it. But with six titles, the Scorchers sit alone at the top. The Sixers remain on three, Brisbane Heat on two. Dominance isn’t just about winning a final, it’s about being there, year after year, and delivering when it counts.

Will this latest triumph change how the rest of the country talks about Perth? Maybe. Maybe not. It won’t bother the Scorchers either way. They know who they are, what they’ve built, and the standards they live by.

Another cup is heading west, and knowing the Scorchers, they’ll already be planning how to win the next one.