In the 21st match of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee’s record-breaking, unbeaten century powered the Hobart Hurricanes to a massive 72-run victory against the Perth Scorchers.
Sydney Thunder led by skipper Phoebe Litchfield were up against Sydney Sixers led by skipper Ellyse Perry at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 22nd match of the tournament.
The Sydney Thunder skipper Phoebe Litchfield won the toss and opted to bat first. The Thunder openers Georgia Voll and Chamari Athapaththu got their side off to a solid start with a 46-run partnership. Caoimhe Bray picked up the wicket of Georgia Voll to provide the first breakthrough for Sydney Sixers. Chamari Athapaththu soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Sydney Sixers.
Heather Knight joined skipper Phoebe Litchfield at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 69-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side closer to the 140-run mark. Lauren Cheatle picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Phoebe Litchfield to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. Sydney Thunder eventually ended up with a total of 158/6 in their quota of 20 overs.
Heather Knight (50 off 31 balls), skipper Phoebe Litchfield (34 off 25 balls), and Chamari Athapaththu (33 off 35 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Sydney Thunder. Melie Kerr (3-0-23-2), Ashleigh Gardner (4-0-21-1), and Lauren Cheatle (4-0-35-1) were the top performers with the ball for Sydney Sixers.
Chasing a target of 159, the Sydney Sixers failed to find any sort of momentum in the run chase as they lost half their side at almost the half-way mark in the run chase. Maitlan Brown joined Ashleigh Gardner at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 54-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side closer to the 120-run mark. Hannah Darlington picked up the wicket of Maitlan Brown to provide the 6th breakthrough for Sydney Thunder.
The Sydney Sixers were eventually bundled out for 140, with 2 balls to spare, as a result, falling 18 runs short of the target. Ashleigh Gardner (49 off 36 balls), Melie Kerr (21 off 17 balls), Maitlan Brown (20 off 17 balls), and skipper Ellyse Perry (15 off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Sydney Sixers. Samantha Bates (4-0-22-3), Chamari Athapaththu (4-0-29-2), Hannah Darlington (2.4-0-27-2), Taneale Peschel (3-0-24-2), and Shabnim Ismail (4-0-20-0) with the ball for Sydney Thunder.
Samantha Bates was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell of 4-0-22-3.
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