Winter Watch: Hants' Aussie Stars Past and Present in Big Bash Semis

Katich and Warne to fight it out in the final four

Two of The Rose Bowl’s favourite Aussies, Simon Katich and Shane Warne will clash in the semi-finals of their country’s revamped Big Bash Twenty20 competition after some nail-biting final group fixtures.

Katich, who will be Hampshire’s 2012 overseas player, made a swift 31 for the Perth Scorchers but couldn’t stop his side dramatically losing to former Royal, Michael Lumb’s (3) Sydney Sixers by one run.

His knock came off 23 balls (including one four and a six) and only came to an end when a direct hit from deep cover caught the Hampshire batsman out of his crease. By then, however, he had put on a valuable 69-run partnership with another one-time Hants player Marcus North and put his team in with a chance of victory.

Despite the loss, Perth top the qualifying group and have a home semi-final. Lumb, and his Sixers side, qualify in third and will face the Hobart Hurricanes in the second semi.

Former Hants captain Shane Warne, meanwhile, booked a final-four clash against “Kat” and his Scorchers with a six wicket win for his Melbourne Stars side over the Adelaide Strikers.

The spinner went wicketless for 28 off four overs but his team comfortably chased down a below-par target of 125 to win with seven balls remaining.

The result moved the Stars above the Brisbane Heat for whom Hampshire’s 2010 FPt20 Final winner, Dan Christian’s had earlier scored 75 not out (from 47 balls, including five 4s and four 6s) to give his team a 95-run win over Sydney Thunder and a chance of qualification.

Elsewhere in the Big Bash, Royals’ Twenty20 overseas signing, Shahid Afridi, whose Melbourne Renegades team were already all but out of the semi-finals, had their fate sealed with a seven wicket loss to the Hobart Hurricanes.

Afridi himself scored 18 not out and took 1/46 from 3.5 overs but his side’s very decent score of 173 was chased down with one ball remaining.

James Vince and Danny Briggs were rested for the England Lions’ final one-day game against Bangladesh A – a six wicket win in Sylhet. And Dimitri Mascarenhas missed his Otago Volts side’s final group match of the HRV Cup having returned to Australia. The Volts had already failed to qualify for the knock-out stages and elected to promote youngsters for the game – a nine wicket win over Northern Districts.

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Words: Simon Vincent
Images: Getty Images

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