Melbourne Renegades star Jake Fraser-McGurk was denied a stunning century, before Cooper Connolly denied his side a finals spot after a dramatic scenes in the BBL on Saturday night that sets up an epic final game on Sunday. Fraser-McGurk smashed a career-best 95 from 46 balls to help briefly lift the Renegades into fourth spot on the table, before Connolly’s big-hitting heroics for Perth in the later game saw the Scorchers leapfrog them into the final spot in the playoffs.

With the Hobart Hurricanes, and both Sydney teams the Sixers and Thunder assured of the top-three spots, it all comes down to Sunday night’s final game between the ladder-leaders and the sixth-placed Melbourne Stars (4-5) in the final match of the regular season. The Stars can leapfrog the Scorchers into fourth place and sew up the last finals spot with a win.

The Scorchers will be praying that’s not the case after Connolly’s three consecutive sixes clinched victory for Perth against the Adelaide Strikers and saw them reach the 161 victory target in the required 18 overs or less. Connolly claimed the key wicket of Matt Short and delivered with the bat when his team needed him the most after a match-winning 39 not out off just 21 balls.

Sadly, the talented all-rounder won’t be around to see if the Scorchers book their finals spot after heading overseas to prepare for Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka – having earned his maiden call-up to the squad. “It’s obviously not ideal, but the opportunity has come to go to Sri Lanka – I’m grateful for that opportunity,” he said.

“I’d love to be playing here at the Scorchers … it’s probably going to sit pretty strangely with me for the next couple of days (missing out). I just hope if the boys get the opportunity, they’ll make the most of it. I definitely have full belief they will.”

Adelaide were bowled out for 161 in 19.1 overs following standout displays from 19-year-old paceman Mahli Beardman (3-17 off three overs) and Jason Behrendorff (3-21 off 3.1 overs). Crucial knocks for Perth’s Sam Fanning (29), Aaron Hardie (28) and Ashton Turner (21) got the Scorchers within touching distance and the BBL’s leading run-scorer Connolly finished off the chase in style to underline his enormous talent.

Jake Fraser McGurk falls just short of epic ton

The victory came after big-hitting Renegades young gun Fraser-McGurk thought he’d done enough to help his side snatch a finals berth. The 22-year-old brushed off the poor form in white-ball cricket that saw him dropped from Australia’s ODI side with a stunning 95 from 46 balls that helped the Renegades pull off the second-highest successful BBL chase at Marvel Stadium.

Fraser-McGurk was brutally denied a century after coming within centimetres of a six that was sensationally caught on the boundary by Matt Renshaw. The Renegades still needed 17 runs to win at that point but Fergus O’Neill (16no) finished the job to chase down Brisbane’s 4-196 and end the Heat’s season with 12 balls to spare.

RELATED:

“Runs are runs and whenever you make them it gives you a lot of confidence … hopefully it kick starts something,” said Fraser-McGurk, who last week missed out on selection in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad. “I was spewing I couldn’t do it throughout the whole tournament.

“There was sort of nothing to lose (against the Heat). It could have been the last game of the (Renegades’) season, and it just freed me up a bit. I just went out there and I thought, ‘stuff it, I’ll give it a red-hot crack and take them on’. And it paid off.”

with AAP