The Brisbane Heat batters fire before Georgia Voll and Nicola Hancock choke the Perth Scorchers to book a place into the WBBL final against the Adelaide Strikers.
The Brisbane Heat led by skipper Jess Jonassen completed a comprehensive 44-run victory over the Sydney Thunder in the eliminator to knock them out of the tournament to end a high-flying campaign, being one of the strong title contenders at the start of the tournament.
On the other hand, the Perth Scorchers led by skipper Sophie Devine had a good campaign as they finished 2nd on the points table with 16 points including eight victories from 14 games. However, they ended their league stages with a hat trick of defeats in their last three games of the season. The Perth Scorchers qualified for the challenger courtesy of a top-two finish in the league stages. The Brisbane Heat were all set to face the Perth Scorchers in the Challenger in Perth.
The Brisbane Heat skipper Jess Jonassen won the toss and opted to bat first. The Brisbane Heat openers got off to a flying start scoring almost 10 runs per over before Nat Sciver-Brunt trapped Grace Harris on the pads to provide a massive breakthrough for the Perth Scorchers. Amelia Kerr joined the wicket-keeper batter Georgia Redmayne at the crease and the duo failed to carry the momentum given by the openers as they lost the wicket of their wicket-keeper batter Georgia Redmayne. Alana King provided the second breakthrough for the Perth Scorchers.
Mignon du Preez joined Amelia Kerr at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 47-run partnership for the third wicket before Nat Sciver-Brunt came back and picked up the wicket of Amelia Kerr to provide the third breakthrough for the Perth Scorchers. She departed for a well-made 31 off just 23 balls, scoring at a strike rate of 134.78. Mignon du Preez soon followed her back to the pavilion for a 20-ball 26, scoring at a strike rate of 130. Alana King provided the fourth breakthrough for the Perth Scorchers.
Brisbane Heat secures WBBL09 final spot with a dominant 67-run win over Perth Scorchers! 🌟
Next stop: facing Adelaide Strikers in the finals 🔥#CricketTwitter #WBBL09 | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/aS8FIiTMX6
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 29, 2023
Charlie Knott joined Laura Harris at the crease and the duo stitched a 29-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Alana King cleaned up Laura Harris to provide the massive wicket for the Perth Scorchers. She departed after smashing her way to 24 off just 11 balls at a daunting strike rate of 218.18. Her tally of runs included a couple of boundaries and a couple of maximums. Skipper Jess Jonassen joined Charlie Knott at the crease and the duo took their side close to the 200-run mark with an unbeaten 32-run partnership.
The Brisbane Heat eventually ended up with a total of 197/5 in their quota of overs. Grace Harris (54 off 33 balls), Charlie Knott (32 off 14 balls), and Laura Harris (24 off 11 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Brisbane Heat. Alana King (3/30) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/29) were the top performers with the ball for the Perth Scorchers.
Chasing a target of 198, the Perth Scorchers openers got off to a steady start before Nicola Hancock picked up the wicket of Lauren Winfield-Hill to provide the first breakthrough for the Brisbane Heat. She departed for a 9-ball 15. Chloe Piparo joined wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney at the crease and soon she was on her way back to the pavilion as the duo failed to form a substantial partnership for the second wicket. Georgia Voll provided the second breakthrough for the Brisbane Heat.
Nat Sciver-Brunt joined wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney at the crease and the duo stitched a 22-run partnership for the third wicket before skipper Jess Jonassen picked up the wicket of Beth Mooney to provide the third breakthrough for the Brisbane Heat. Skipper Sophie Devine joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the duo stitched an 18-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Georgia Voll came back and picked up the massive wicket of the opposition skipper Sophie Devine to provide the fourth breakthrough for the Brisbane Heat.
Maddy Darke joined Nat Sciver-Brunt at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 37-run partnership for the fifth wicket before skipper Jess Jonassen came back and picked up the massive wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt in the 13th over of the run chase to land a huge blow to the hopes of the Perth Scorchers of chasing down a massive target. The Perth Scorchers suffered a mini-collapse as they lost their next three wickets for just 11 runs and found themselves 110/8 in the 17th over of the run chase starring at a massive defeat.
The Perth Scorchers were eventually restricted to 130/8 in their quota of overs. Nat Sciver-Brunt (36 off 27 balls) was the lone warrior with the bat for the Perth Scorchers and was also the top performer with the bat for her side scoring at a strike rate of 133.33. Georgia Voll (4/19), skipper Jess Jonassen (2/25), and Nicola Hancock (1/17) were the top performers with the ball for the Brisbane Heat.
Grace Harris was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance (54 off 33 balls) with the bat playing a crucial role in helping the Brisbane Heat complete a thrashing 67-run victory over the Perth Scorchers as they book themselves a spot in the final against the Adelaide Strikers in Adelaide on (Saturday) 2nd December 2023.