Perth Scorchers hero Ashton Agar has recalled how he calmed himself before hitting the match-winning six off the final ball to clinch victory over the Melbourne Renegades.
The Scorchers needed three runs off the final ball for victory at Etihad Stadium on Thursday night, with Agar on strike and charged with the responsibility. Down the other end was wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Whiteman.
Agar proceeded to dramatically hit part-time spinner Aaron Finch over the midwicket rope to clinch a stunning triumph
“Sammy Whiteman came up and said ‘what are you going to try to do?’,” Agar recalled.
“I said ‘I’m going to try to hit him through the leg side for four or six’.
“He just said ‘stand still and watch the ball’. It came off.”
Renegades skipper Finch had men in the ring behind the wicket with players scattered on the boundary on leg side for the final ball.
“I had a rough idea of what he was trying to do and you could tell from the field a little bit,” Agar said.
“That’s Twenty20 cricket. It comes off sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t. It went my way tonight.”
Agar said it was an awesome and unbelievable feeling to hit the winning runs in such circumstances but was also keen to praise Player of the Match Michael Klinger after his crucial 72 from 55 balls.
“I was so happy but the credit can’t go to me for winning the game,” Agar said.
“Michael Klinger batted like a genius. Maxy kept a cool head the whole time.
“Mitch Marsh was a great power injection in there.
“I thought our bowling effort was really good as well, so it was a good team effort.”
The result moves the Scorchers into top spot with a 2-1 record after three games, after losing to the Sydney Sixers on Tuesday.
“You need momentum in this competition,” Agar said.
“Winning the first game really helped. We’ve lost all our first games in previous years, so winning our first game was super important.
“To bounce back from a loss last game was super important. Going forward, we’ll take some confidence.”
The Scorchers are next in action on Sunday against the Sydney Thunder in a sell-out at #TheFurnace.