Perth Nathan Coulter-Nile has announced his return to cricket by leading the Perth Scorchers to its fourth consecutive Big Bash League final.
Coulter-Nile hadn't been on a cricket pitch since late November due to hamstring injuries, but starred with bat and ball to give the Scorchers a 18-run victory over the Melbourne Stars at the WACA Ground on Sunday.
The loss was the Stars' fourth in four years at the semi-final stage, and third at the last hurdle to the Scorchers.
The defending BBL champs will now clash with the Sydney Sixers in Canberra on Wednesday.
The win sent a warning to the Sixers: this Perth side always thinks it's in the game, especially with Coulter-Nile back in the side.
The Scorchers' 144 seemed a bit short on Sunday, but the Stars batsmen struggled to find any rhythm from the outset, ending up with 126 all out.
Cameron White ate up 24 balls for his 13 before edging to keeper Sam Whiteman off the bowling of Yasir Arafat.
But with Kevin Pietersen at the crease, Melbourne still seemed a big chance.
Coulter-Nile put paid to that in the 15th over though, when he sent both Rob Quiney and Pietersen back to the shed in the space of three balls.
The former England captain scored 31 from 27 balls. He and Luke Wright (also 31) were the only two Stars' batsmen who looked capable of getting on top of the Perth bowlers.
Andrew Tye finished with season best figures of 4-18, including the crucial wickets of Wright, Peter Handscomb — who followed up his match winning century mid-week with a second ball duck — John Hastings and Clint McKay.
It was a good fightback from Tye, who earlier faced the entire final over for the Scorchers — against McKay — without getting bat on ball to any of the six slow bouncers.
The Perth Scorchers fumbled their way to 7-144 from their 20 overs.
They were on the back foot early after Hastings' first two overs when he captured 2-9 and the home side was struggling at 2-20, with Michael Klinger (five) and Adam Voges (three) dismissed.
Shaun Marsh batted without fluency for his 35 from 34 balls. But without his 68-run partnership with Michael Carberry, the Scorchers innings would not have lasted as long as it did.
Carberry top-scored with 50 from 36 balls before he was caught at long-off from the bowling of Michael Beer with the last ball of the 15th over, when the score was 5-99.
Coulter-Nile smashed a much-needed 22 from just nine deliveries, including two fours and two sixes.
But when he became Hastings' third victim, with nine balls to go, the Scorchers looked incapable of posting a reasonable target.
Tye then failed to get bat on ball for McKay's final over, the last of the ninnings, missing six conseutive deliveries, to the jeers of his home crowd.
