Mitch Owen gave a hugely successful BBL campaign the perfect final moment

Like that star crossed pair Danny and Sandy we, last night bade farewell to our summer nights.

The progressive long weekend climax of our January passions the Australian Open and the BBL.

It feels like this summer has revolved around sport the way I remember it did when I was a kid.

The audiences stand as evidence to how immersive this summer of sport has been.

The Test summer set us on our way as 837,879 fans attended the 20 days of Border Gavaskar cricket across five cities.

The Australian Open set a new record of 1.2 million across the 15 days at Melbourne Park.

And the BBL cracked the million through the gates at the Knockout Final averaging 23,000 across 44 matches. A six year high for crowds… a five year high for TV ratings.

Jannick Sinner’s triumph on Sunday night rated beyond 2 million and the women’s final – a vastly superior match – drew more than 1.5 million.

We’ll wait to see the ratings from last night for the BBL Decider… but it was one hell of a spectacle.

It’s easy to feel the magnitude of the Finals at Melbourne Park… what happens in those matches defines legacies.

The Men’s Final might be the most star-studded sporting affair of the year in the stands stretching from an obligatory Hemsworth, to Eric Bana, to Jackie Chan.

The Final of the Big Bash is a little harder to peg – how much does it matter who wins and how does it resonate? Last night was powerful on both fronts.

The image of a rollicking Bellerive rabid with 15,000 locals cheering on the home team … well that lit the imagination not just for the now but for the future as well.

Tasmania adds the BBL title to the NBL championship as it furthers its credentials as a sporting powerhouse.

And it did so off the bat of a young local who as a kid was one of those fans in the stands watching the Hurricanes play and hatching a dream.

It was the perfect boy’s own tale and told the story of this competition across it’s 14 years.

This sort of happening has always been the core of the BBL for me. Something audacious… something transfixing… something irresistible. And Mitch Owen was every inch that.

The 23-year-old ended the contest faster than Mike Tyson in his prime.

His hitting instantly demoralized the opposition and was a hazard to the crowd.

The chase for a record-setting century completely eclipsed the contest for the trophy. Briefly, Owen will be a household name.

I suspect he’ll have a flurry of offers from franchise cricket around the world that will spin his bank account faster than he was spinning the scoreboard.

And it gives the BBL Final a defining feat… a crucial catalogue building the magnitude of the event itself.

The Mitch Owen century is one that has a chance to last.

The defining happenings in BBL Finals – the Stars astounding collapse to lose the Melbourne Derby Final at Marvel was probably number 1 until last night.

This is the right footprint for the BBL… concluding before school resumes.

It goes through various phases… progressively gains momentum, gets a boost from the Australian players, plays second fiddle to the tennis, loses too many of its stars at the business end and then needs a big finish.

And that’s why the competition owes Mitch Owen a significant debt of gratitude.

The seagull getting hit the MCG, Glenn Maxwell’s succession of brilliant innings – the Derby where he milked the strike in a match winning knock – Steve Smith’s pure class in the SCG ton. Owen’s knock in the final.