The BBL13 final has arrived at a sold-out SCG, with the exciting Brisbane Heat taking on the ever-threatening Sydney Sixers.
Heat opener Josh Brown pulls off a mammoth 140 to secure the Heat's passage to the decider.
8.45pm: We have a total
At the end of the 20th inning, the Brisbane Heat finished with the score at 166-8.
Matt Renshaw hit a four and then a huge six over cow corner off Jack Edwards in the final over to pull the total over the 160-point mark.
Renshaw finished with 38 off 21 and was run on the final delivery in search of third over.
The Heat lost 4-9 straight there, after 5-15 at the end of their innings against the Raiders.
Sean Abbott is also the first man to take four wickets in a Big Bash final.
8.40pm: The show is done and dusted off
Brisbane Heat got 19 points off the power play in Sydney, but it came at the cost of three wickets. Sean Abbott dismissed Max Bryant after the right-hander slapped him straight at long off, before taking the wickets of Paul Walter and then off-spinner Michael Eagle in successive deliveries.
He posted figures of 3-6 from his final over, with one over and the heat of 6-153.
8.25pm: Heat in the pit
New Heat players Max Bryant and Matty Renshaw couldn't hang around to build on the team's hot start.
The pair added 24 off 23 balls before Bryant hit a four and then a monster six from Sean Abbott to take the Heat to 3-134 at the end of 17 overs.
8.05pm – Strike Six
Brisbane Heat skipper Nathan McSweeney holed out in the deep back square for 33 off 31.
McSweeney looked good in support of Brown, but he tried to throw the ball into the crowd and it was caught well on the rope by Todd Murphy.
It looked as if Brisbane's Josh Brown was ready to knock them out of the competition when he reached 50 after surviving a couple of tough chances down the field, but his luck ran out when he was trapped in front by Steve O'Keefe who delivered one last minute bit of magic in his final match. In purple.
After initially not being out, O'Keefe convinced captain Moises Henriques to appeal the decision, with replays showing that the ball had passed Brown on the stand before he struck it.
The roar around the SCG was something you'd normally hear during a State of Origin, with the Sixers looking to salvage some NSW pride against a Heat team that raced to 3/97 after 13 overs.
Replays showed the ball hitting the pad on its way to the bat, overturning the no-out call on the pitch.
O'Keefe has 99 BBL wickets in his career.
7.55pm – Brown hits the ground running to bring in 50
Josh Brown hit successive sixes off Hayden Kerr to make 50 off 32 in the Big Bash decider.
Brown was nervous early on, but now he caught fire, blazing his way to a half-century.
Nathan McSweeney ably supports him at the other end with 27 from 24 as we raise 10 over the mark.
How far can he go?
7:40pm – Did Ben Dwarshuis drop the big shots?
The Sixers bowlers had been preparing for the past 48 hours to catch anything Josh Brown threw their way, but they failed in the first attempt as the left-arm spinner missed a tough chance down the field.
Just days after claiming the second-fastest century in BBL history, Brown struggled to get going on a slow surface at the SCG.
The opener of the heat was three in 10 when he hit Jack Edwards to the leg side boundary as Dwarshuis took the lead but could not hold on.
The ball flowed to the boundary and was the reprieve he needed as Brown left behind a six and four to help the visitors recover after losing Jamie Pearson in the opener.
7:20pm – Sixers' risk pays off early
The brave decision to bowl first paid off as the Sixers scored an action-packed goal to leave the Brisbane Heat on the back foot.
Having survived the first ball when an edge fell just short of Josh Phillip, Jamie Pearson continued to push his luck when he volleyed a short shot past Hayden Kerr who earned it.
But the opener's luck ran out as Sean Abbott found the outside edge to leave the visitors 1/5 up with hard-hitting Josh Brown still at the crease.
Previously: Henrique names despite positive test result
Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has confirmed he will isolate in a separate changing room for the NBA Finals after the club revealed he tested positive for Covid on Monday.
The veteran all-rounder conducted media at the SCG on Tuesday afternoon and spoke to reporters for more than 18 minutes before posing for pictures with Heat captain Nathan McSweeney who he knew was unwell.
Some concerns have been raised about how the Sixers and Cricket NSW delayed announcing Henriques' positive Covid test for nearly 48 hours.
The pre-game press conference on Tuesday was attended by at least a dozen media members, all of whom were in close proximity to Henriques despite his positive test.
However, Cricket NSW insists they adhere to their duty of care while maintaining social distancing and holding the press conference outside.
“Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques tested positive for Covid on Monday and as a result has adjusted contact with others since then,” the club wrote in a statement just hours before Wednesday's final.
“Sixers, Brisbane Heat players and staff, match officials and media have been informed so they can determine the appropriate action. There is no doubt Henriques will take his place in the KFC BBL|13 final.”
There was a Covid outbreak in the Australian squad this week with Travis Head dealing with the virus, before Cricket Australia revealed on Wednesday that coach Andrew McDonald and Cameron Green had also tested positive.
Henriques scored 59 goals against the Heat on Friday to help the Sixers advance to the league finals for the seventh time, with the competition's most capped leader on the verge of returning to full health.
He spoke to Fox Cricket an hour before the match on Wednesday night but remained distant from the panelists.
“I knew there was a reason I had struggled to get back in the last two games,” he joked, as Dan Hughes replaced him at centre-bat.
“I got tested at the end of the last game and it came back positive, but I've really started to feel better the last couple of days, so hopefully I can come back for a few tonight.
“For tonight, I have a separate changing room for the rest of the team.
“I'm probably feeling better than I did the last couple of nights, so maybe the horse has pulled back a little bit.
“I hope our boys have a good night tonight and I haven't caused any injury to either the team or the coaching staff over the past two games.
“Thank God for the vaccinations and all this modern technology and everything that enables us to play instead of being locked up for two weeks.”
