Hampshire skipper James Vince agonisingly close to second T20 career century in controversial finish to BBL play-off

Playing for defending champions Sydney Sixers, the Hampshire skipper finished unbeaten on 98 as his side defeated Perth Scorchers to reach the grand final.

With Vince needing a boundary to seal a win and his hundred, Scorchers pace bowler Andrew Tye bowled a leg-side wide that Vince said he would have needed ‘a stepladder’ to reach.

There were boos from some of the spectators present at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, and Vince was caught on camera giving Tye the proverbial look that could kill.

Daniel Hughes (21 not out) had played out three dot balls in the previous over, the 17th, to allow Vince the chance to score his first T20 ton since his unbeaten 107 for Hampshire in a Blast quarter-final victory over Worcestershire in 2015.

After Perth had been restricted to 169-6 - England World Cup winner Jason Roy out cheaply for just three - Sixers won by nine runs under the Duckworth/Lewis Method - scoring 168-1.

Vince and opening partner Josh Philippe (45) had blitzed 92 in only 8.5 overs before Hughes helped Vince add an unbroken 76 for the second wicket.

‘I said to Hughesy the over before ‘you finish it’ but he hit a dot and the crowd then started getting up a bit,’ recalled Vince.

‘That last over I was just trying to hit a boundary and got one a couple of feet over my head I couldn’t have reached with a stepladder ... I can’t imagine he meant it, but it was a bit of an anti-climax.’

Diplomatically, Vince added: ‘He (Tye) said he didn’t mean it, their guys said he didn’t mean it, we’ll have to take his word for it.

‘I’m just happy I was there at the end and was able to get us to the final.’

For the first time in the tournament, the Sixers will be playing in their home city next Saturday with the final due to be held at the SCG.

So far, all their ‘home’ games have been played hundreds of miles away from Sydney due to coronavirus restrictions.

The play-off win against the Scorchers was held 178 miles away in Canberra, but that is easily the nearest ‘home’ game the reigning champions have had.

Other ‘home’ fixtures have been held in Hobart on Tasmania - almost 1,000 miles away - Carrara in Queensland (over 500 miles away) and Melbourne (around 550 miles away).

‘Being on the road and not having a home game along the way, apart from here in Canberra, I think it’s just been a massive effort,’ said Vince.

‘The group’s stayed together really well.

‘That’s the strength of this franchise, we’ve been on the road together a long time, a couple of months.

‘You could easily have some friction but there’s been nothing, the guys have really enjoyed each other’s company.’

Next weekend’s final will be against either Brisbane Heat or the Scorchers, who under the BBL rules have a second chance of reaching the final. They meet on Thursday.

Vince’s 98 was his 39th half century to go alongside his sole hundred in 232 T20 innings stretching back to June 2010.

The weekend knock was the highest by a Sixers batsman in the BBL since the franchise system started in 2011, beating Hughes’ 96 against Melbourne Stars on Boxing Day.

Two more runs would have seen Vince record only the 27th BBL century.

Vince averaged 26.46 in the group stages, which the Sixers topped, but his 98 has lifted him to fourth in the tournament’s run charts.

He now has 442 runs at 34.00, trailing only Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder, 535 at 41.15), Phillipe (499 at 33.26) and his former Ageas Bowl colleague Colin Munro (Perth Scorchers, 448 at 34.46).

Vince played the first 11 matches of the BBL campaign at No 3, but for the last four has opened alongside wicket-keeper batsman Philippe.

Since being promoted to open, Vince has scored 38, 5, 46 and now 98 not out.