With one run required for victory, after Daniel Hughes had blocked out the previous over, Perth quick Andrew Tye turned villain bowling a bouncer which was called a wide leaving Vince stranded two runs short of a maiden Big Bash ton.

"I actually said to Hughesy the over before, just finish it," Vince said.

"Then he hit a dot and the crowd started getting up a bit, so I then went down and said actually let's not run. Then that last over I was obviously looking to just try and hit a boundary and I got one that far over my head that I wouldn't be able to reach with a stepladder.

"I can't imagine he meant it, but it was a bit of an anticlimax. It [a hundred] would've been the icing on the cake but I'm just pleased that we were able to put in such a good win."

Perth captain Ashton Turner was quick to defend Tye.

"Anyone who knows AJ Tye knows that he plays the game of cricket in the best spirits and I can assure you at the top of the mark the plan wasn't to bowl that ball," Turner said.

"I'm sure AJ would be disappointed with that ball any time in the game. There's going to be a little bit more of a spotlight someone trying to get a hundred.

"I hope that doesn't take away from how well James Vince played, I thought he was brilliant tonight. He's a class international cricketer and unfortunately we were on the receiving end of a batting masterclass tonight."

Vince's knock capped off an eventful evening at Manuka Oval, and the Scorchers, beaten by nine wickets, will leave Canberra in a veil of frustration after an umpiring howler against Mitch Marsh earlier in the night.

In the 13^th over of Perth's innings, key man Marsh was given his marching orders after being adjudged to have hit the ball down his leg side into Josh Philippe's waiting gloves.

The umpire's finger ventured skyward with Marsh on just two runs at a key moment in Perth's innings, causing the all-rounder to slam his bat into his pad before unleashing a visible expletive which will likely bring with it a financial sanction.

"We're not robots, we encourage all of our players to be authentic, we have emotions, we feel disappointed, we feel happy when things go well," Turner said.

"It was pretty clear that Mitch was disappointed and feels that he didn't hit the ball.

"Umpiring's been something that's been in a lot of headlines. Certainly it's really frustrating, but we're professional athletes, we know that's part of the deal, we've got to cop it on the chin at times irrespective of how big a game it is, and how important a player it is or how important a moment of the game it is.

"I'm sure Mitch will go away and reflect on his actions tonight. We all get frustrated and Mitch is no exception.

"I'd be absolutely staggered if he's fined or suspended for a game. I don't know if it was near the stump mic or cameras were zoomed up but I've seen worse carry ons in this tournament."

In fairness, Marsh's dismissal hardly would have affected the result as the BBL's most consistent team propelled themselves to within one game of a successful title defence.

Cricket Australia revealed at the conclusion of the match that the final will be played at the SCG - the first and only foray into the Harbour City this BBL summer.

Vince's 98 came off just 53 balls and included a 92-run opening stand with young gun Josh Philippe, up against a host of his West Australian teammates.

The pair set Manuka alight, helping the Sixers easily reel in Perth's 6-167 which had been largely anchored by Josh Inglis's unbeaten 69.

Saturday's result also means Sunday's clash at Manuka Oval between the Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat will be the 12^th and last BBL match played in Canberra this season.