It was very nearly a picture-book ending for former Australian Test cricketer Brett Lee in the Big Bash final Down Under, but the whole-hearted speedster was thwarted at the very last by the cricketing Gods, as his side the Sydney Sixers came up agonisingly just short in the Twenty20 competition. It was Lee's final match before he takes a well-earned retirement and he was keen to go out on a high, yet just as he thought that he had turned the game back towards his side with two wickets in two balls, he failed to finish the job off on the very last ball of the innings as Perth Scorchers got the run they needed for victory.

One man's misery is another's delight though, and for Perth it was relief at the end as they limped over the line, in their pursuit of the 148 runs for victory that they had been set in their twenty overs. As they approached the victory in the last over, the equation became quite simple it seemed. One run to win and still three balls remaining. They (almost) reckoned without Lee's tenacity faced with such a perilous position though, as he roared in to take two wickets in successive deliveries. What more fitting finish could he have to his career, than to take a hat-trick with his final ball and prevent the opposition winning in the process?

Sadly for him, as the crowd drew their breath in anticipation of the climax, it was not to be for the tall Aussie, as the final ball was blocked by the batsman and Perth's pair scampered for the run they required.

Even then it should have still ended with Yasir Arafat being run out, but the Sydney captain Moises Henriques could not take the throw clearly and the win was Perth's.

It was a pity for 38-year-old Lee but so typical of his career, that he should end it in such dramatic fashion, considering the epic matches he has been involved in since he started on the road to cricketing stardom in 1995 with New South Wales.

Recognised as one of the quickest bowlers of all-time in his heyday, the player nicknamed 'Binga' was one of the stars of the epic 2005 Ashes' series in England, as Australia tried in vain to pry the famous urn out of the home nation's hands.

A pitch invader who ran on to the WACA ground following Perth's semi-final victory and joyously hugged the players in celebration, has subsequently been charged with trespass, as the authorities attempt to dissuade such behaviour in future.