Laughlin reflects on "horrible" last ball

Paceman Ben Laughlin has described the ball that sent his Adelaide Strikers into their first KFC BBL final as "horrible".

The Strikers pipped Melbourne Renegades by one run in a Friday night semi-final thriller at Adelaide Oval, meaning they will host Hobart Hurricanes in Sunday's final.

The Renegades' West Indian batsman Kieron Pollard needed three runs to win from Laughlin's final ball, but he swung and missed and the could only scamper one bye.

Laughlin, asked if he delivered the ball where he wanted to, replied: "Hell no."

"It was a horrible length ball that didn't come out really well," he said. "Sometimes you get lucky though, don't you?

"It's either I hit and we win, or he hits and they win.

"You know halfway down ... that it wasn't right. I was wishing it would all come together and I got lucky."

Pollard and Tom Cooper needed 20 runs from the last two overs and then 13 from the final six balls bowled by Laughlin.

Pollard clattered a boundary first ball to reduce the equation to nine required from five deliveries, but Laughlin held his nerve to concede just six from the next four balls to leave three runs to win and two to tie.

Having bowled almost exclusively full to Pollard, Laughlin dragged the next one a little shorter but the West Indian couldn't hit the good-length ball and the Strikers edged home by a run.

Strikers captain Travis Head was a central figure in the white-knuckle win having only been cleared to play the match 24 hours earlier.

Head was given a late release from the Australian Twenty20 squad to lead his Strikers and smacked an unbeaten 85 from 57 balls in Adelaide's 5-178.

He then opened the bowling and claimed the key wicket of Renegades opener Marcus Harris, who blasted 45 off 29 deliveries.

And whether or not Head is released by Cricket Australia again for Sunday's decider could determine who takes out the title, according to Renegades captain Cameron White.

"I would say if he can't play, Hobart are clear favourites," White said.

"He comes back and he automatically makes them better. He made 70 (sic) and bowled four overs for six-and-a-bit runs an over."