Follow live: Perth Scorchers’ season on line in final weekend of BBL action before finals
The Perth Scorchers are in action needing to win to stay alive in the finals race - after the Renegades did them a massive favour in chasing down a big target against Brisbane.
Perth will have to chase down whatever Adelaide make inside 18 overs, and then have Hobart beat the Melbourne Stars tomorrow, in order to play BBL finals.
Follow the latest live below!
Back underway!
It’s Finn Allen and Sam Fanning to open up, and Brendan Doggett with ball in hand. Here we go!
The equation for Adelaide to make finals, incidently, is to limit Perth to 146 or fewer (and have Melbourne lose tomorrow, too).
END OF INNINGS: ADELAIDE ALL OUT 161
That’s an impressive fightback from the Scorchers after Adelaide went at 10 an over for the first half of the innings!
They needed wickets to stem the flow, and they got them. The youngsters in Connolly and Beardman started to drag it back, and then the rest of the attack - Behrendorff, Agar and Morris - all pitched in to make sure the total wouldn’t get out of hand.
So as well as needing Hobart to beat the Melbourne Stars tomorrow, the Scorchers must chase this target down inside 18 overs to reach finals.
The required rate is precisely 9 an over... GAME ON!
BIG WICKET!
Liam Scott finally departs!
Agar gets him after building some pressure earlier in the over, with a slice to backward point.
It’s a brilliant knock of 67 off 43, with five sixes.
Adelaide are now 8-159 with two overs to go... just three off the Agar over. Huge.
Beardman strikes again!
The youngster is getting the job done! He’s now got 3-17 from 3 overs after Doggett holes out.
It’s 7-156 with three overs to go.
A reminder: Perth need to chase down their target inside 18 overs to remain in the hunt for a finals berth. So if they need 180, they’ll need to get it at 10 an over...
Adelaide 6-148 after 16 overs
What a time to bring up the first 50 of your BBL career!
Liam Scott bangs Lance Morris over long on for six, and gets the milestone off 36 balls.
And then follows up with an even better one in the same region the very next delivery!
It’s been a superb knock, with Adelaide of course having their own finals hopes going on the line here. He’s playing a gem and ends up taking 17 from the last power surge over.
Big scalp!
D’Arcy Short has to go as Behrendorff does the job in the first over of the power surge!
Short’s pull shot goes straight to Connolly in the deep, and now the Scorchers are into the tail as Brendan Doggett comes out.
It’s 6-131 with five overs left. ‘Dorff has 2-21 from three overs and has been typically potent. He’s the competition’s leading wicket-taker!
Wicket needed
Liam Scott continues to look sharp, smashing Connolly straight down the ground for a big six!
He’s worked his way to 44 and the Strikers are 5-128 with six overs to go.
Adelaide 5-112 after 12
The Strikers are going at 9.3 an over, with 8 overs left in their innings, as ‘Sweet Caroline’ gets the crowd of 30,000+ up and about.
Can Perth keep taking wickets to limit this to a sub-160 score and give themselves a chance of chasing it down inside the 18-over mark?
Another one! Five down!
One way to stop a big total is simply to bowl the opposition out...
The Scorchers have a fifth - and Beardman a second - as Manenti smashes one straight to point and Agar!
It’s 5-101 after 10.2, and suddenly the Strikers may need to slow down a bit from here or risk getting rolled...
WA lad D’Arcy Short is the new man at the crease.
HALFWAY: Adelaide 4-101
It’s shaping as a formidable chase for the Scorchers, who are going to need to hunt down Adelaide’s total inside 18 overs - not 20 - if they’re to stay alive in the finals equation.
Will we see some fireworks from the likes of Finn Allen and Aaron Hardie with the bat later this evening?
