The Sydney Sixers are the first team into the BBL Final after a crushing nine-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers at Manuka Oval.
James Vince made history for the Sixers, hitting the highest score for the side as Sydney won the game with 18 balls remaining but he was stranded for 98 after Andrew Tye bowled a wide to finish it off.
No Sixer has ever hit a century in the Big Bash and Vince was denied when the ball was pulled down by Tye, finishing the game with three overs remaining, chasing down the Scorchers' 6/167 just one wicket down.
But it could have been more costly for the Scorchers after allrounder Mitch Marsh blew up after yet another umpiring howler in the competition.
Marsh has been in good form in the competition but was given out for just two down the leg side despite appearing to miss the ball by a long way.
Marsh screamed "f***" that came through clearly on the stump mic before growling something at the Sixers as the Sydney side celebrated.
It was clean work from Josh Philippe behind the stumps but replays showed it looked to have missed the bat by a long way.
Marsh was furious over the call.
And so he should have been.
It's been a season full of howlers and heated debate over a DRS system.
On Channel 7, Ricky Ponting was stunned, labelling it a "howler".
"He has to be careful to keep those emotions in check," Ponting said. "There was a big noise but going on that reaction he obviously got nowhere near it. This is why you need a DRS in our competition, one of your most important players, if he gets out on a mistake like this, that can't be good."
But at the half-time break, Ponting appeared to suggest that Marsh could be rubbed out of the next match where the Scorchers will have to play the winner of the Thunder-Heat game.
"I said something on my headset but look at the reaction from Mitchell Marsh," Ponting said.
"Unacceptable and he will have to pay in some way, shape or form for the dismissal. Let's hope it is not a bad outcome.
"It will be bad in one way or the other but his reaction was over the top and not expected from a senior Australian player."
Earlier in the season, Adam Zampa was suspended for one match for swearing, with Ponting fearing a precedent had been set.
But fans were quick to slam the cause of the outburst rather than the outburst itself.
Ricky Ponting on @7cricket says he expects Mitch Marsh to be suspended for his dissent after being dismissed tonight #BBL10
He’s mad there 😡 Tough to lose one of your best players like this got to be close to using DRS on all TV games haven’t we? https://t.co/2c9fK6gQH2
On Fox Cricket, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh said it would reignite discussion over the DRS system in the competition.
"I don't think you react like that if it comes off the face of your bat," Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket.
“I think we’ve all got to come to the agreement of we just use the technology, and in that situation, if it’s inconclusive, just stay with the on-field decision.”
Waugh replied: “Yes, we need DRS. “It’s a big tournament. Players careers are hinging on results, and coaching careers.
“Use it quickly in the game, we don’t want it to go too long, but use it for sure.”
It was an anticlimactic finish with Vince stranded on 98.
The Scorchers struggled early, limping to 2/72 off the first 10 overs before getting a wriggle on in the second 10.
Colin Munro's 30 off 25 balls got the Scorchers started but Josh Inglis' 69 off 41 balls and Ashton Turner's 22-ball 33 got the side to a decent score of 6/167.
But the Sixers batsmen were on fire with Josh Philippe racing to 45 off 28 before he was dismissed before Vince flew to 98 not out off 53 balls, only to be stranded just short of the century.
He'll get another chance at the SCG next Saturday in the BBL Final, the first game to be played in Sydney this season.
Updates
Scorchers pile on 6/167
The Perth Scorchers have set a competitive total but the Sydney Sixers are off to a flier.
The Scorchers went from 2/72 after 10, piling on 97 runs with Josh Inglis' 69 not out off 41 balls and Ashton Turner's 22-ball 33 getting the side to the competitive score.
But it was overshadowed by Mitchell Marsh's dismissal which was still being spoken about after the innings.
On Channel 7, Ricky Ponting took aim at Marsh's reaction where he clearly screamed "f***", which was picked up by the stump mic.
He had been choked down the leg side for 2 but the video evidence was fairly conclusive that he missed the ball by quite a way.
While Ponting said it was a "howler", he took Marsh to task for the way he reacted to the dismissal.
"I said something on my headset but look at the reaction from Mitchell Marsh," Ponting said.
"Unacceptable and he will have to pay in some way, shape or form for the dismissal. Let's hope it is not a bad outcome.
"It will be bad in one way or the other but his reaction was over the top and not expected from a senior Australian player."
Earlier in the season, Adam Zampa was suspended for one match for swearing, with Ponting fearing a precedent had been set.
Ricky Ponting on @7cricket says he expects Mitch Marsh to be suspended for his dissent after being dismissed tonight #BBL10
Marsh wears his heart on his sleeve and even broke his hand early last season after being dismissed in a Sheffield Shield game.
In reply the Sixers were 0/49 off five overs.
'F***': Marsh explodes after 'howler'
Mitch Marsh has been given out down the leg side and exploded as the all-round fumed over the call.
Marsh screamed "f***" that came through clearly on the stump mic before growling something at the Sixers as the Sydney side celebrated.
It was clean work from Josh Philippe behind the stumps but replays showed it looked to have missed the bat by a long way.
It's been a season full of howlers and heated debate over a DRS system.
On Channel 7, Ricky Ponting was stunned, labelling it a "howler".
"He has to be careful to keep those emotions in check," Ponting said. "There was a big noise but going on that reaction he obviously got nowhere near it. This is why you need a DRS in our competition, one of your most important players, if he gets out on a mistake like this, that can't be good."
On Fox Cricket, they thought he might be fined for the eruption but agreed they'd overturn the decision if they were in the review box.
"I don't think you react like that if it comes off the face of your bat," Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket. "Cue the discussion on DRS."
"I think he's missed that by a fair way," Mark Waugh added after watching the replay.
The question quickly moved to the DRS as it has throughout the tournament.
“I think we’ve all got to come to the agreement of we just use the technology, and in that situation, if it’s inconclusive, just stay with the on-field decision,” Gilchrist said. Waugh replied: “Yes, we need DRS.
“It’s a big tournament. Players careers are hinging on results, and coaching careers.
“Use it quickly in the game, we don’t want it to go too long, but use it for sure.”
He’s mad there 😡 Tough to lose one of your best players like this got to be close to using DRS on all TV games haven’t we? https://t.co/2c9fK6gQH2
After three overs, it was 1/11 with the Scorchers staring down the prospect of going for its lowest Power Play score of 22.
However, a six each for Colin Munro and Liam Livingstone turned it around as the Scorchers reached 1/30 off four overs.
Insane rise of Aussie cricket wunderkind
Josh Philippe is 81 runs shy of the top of the BBL run scoring ladder but the Sixers star has confirmed a big future for himself.
Set to make his international debut in the T20 series against New Zealand in February, Philippe has come a long way in not much time.
Although stuck behind Josh Inglis on the Western Australian wicketkeeper batsman hierarchy, the 23-year-old told cricket.com.au that it was just three years ago that he couldn't get any interest from WA in any team and was playing in the UK in 2017 with no money in his pocket.
"I wasn't part of any WA squad then and I almost felt like the dream of playing state cricket was slipping away," the now 23-year-old tells cricket.com.au.
"It is quite amazing to think back to then – I had 20 pounds in my wallet … I could hardly afford to eat lunch."
Playing for Newcastle Cricket Club, he responded by hitting 1314 runs at an average of just under 60.
He said it made him as a cricketer.
"It definitely made me the player I am today," he said. "Just going away and not being a part of any system and just working my game out for myself. "That's where I think I got that fearless approach that I play with now. "Over there it was almost like the result doesn't matter. I'm just going to go out, play my brand of cricket and have fun and if I get out, I get out – who cares? "No one is going to judge you as a bloke based on your cricket performances. I just happened to do really well over there and I feel like that mentality just stuck with me."
What happened next is history as the star could be looking at a World Cup T20 spot for Australia, a long way to go in just four years.
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