THE Sydney Sixers' all-star pace attack set the tournament up but it was their bargain basement imports who landed the killer blow as the Australian team crushed Highveld Lions in the Champions League final at Wanderers.
The Sixers are not merely Australia's premier Twenty20 franchise but officially the best in the world after demolishing their South African opponent by 10 wickets with a whopping 45 remaining. The victory, their 11th win on the trot, ensured they would take home the $US2.5 million ($2.4 million) winner's cheque.
"We've been building for that the two weeks," skipper Brad Haddin said. "If you look at the start of the tournament we were very nervous ... but leading into today's game we were quite relaxed. "We had that performance in us somewhere and I'm just glad it came on the big stage."
And it was their foreign legion who came to the fore for the Sixers. Kiwi tweaker Nathan McCullum, who formed one half of a surprisingly potent spin duo, rocked the Lions early before South African-born Englishman Michael Lumb creamed an unbeaten 82 off 42 balls to complete the annihilation.
His innings saw him claim both the man of the match award and the Golden Bat as the tournament's leading run-scorer. McCullum and spin twin Steve O'Keefe sewed the seeds for the Lions' demise after being handed the new ball by Haddin in a shock move.
The Sixers are not merely Australia's premier Twenty20 franchise but officially the best in the world after demolishing their South African opponent by 10 wickets with a whopping 45 remaining. The victory, their 11th win on the trot, ensured they would take home the $US2.5 million ($2.4 million) winner's cheque.
"We've been building for that the two weeks," skipper Brad Haddin said. "If you look at the start of the tournament we were very nervous ... but leading into today's game we were quite relaxed. "We had that performance in us somewhere and I'm just glad it came on the big stage."
And it was their foreign legion who came to the fore for the Sixers. Kiwi tweaker Nathan McCullum, who formed one half of a surprisingly potent spin duo, rocked the Lions early before South African-born Englishman Michael Lumb creamed an unbeaten 82 off 42 balls to complete the annihilation.
His innings saw him claim both the man of the match award and the Golden Bat as the tournament's leading run-scorer. McCullum and spin twin Steve O'Keefe sewed the seeds for the Lions' demise after being handed the new ball by Haddin in a shock move.
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