Hannah Darlington’s three-wicket haul and Chamari Athapaththu’s brilliant spell of 4-0-12-2 helped Sydney Thunder extend their lead at the top of the points table with a four-wicket win against the Melbourne Stars in the 33rd match of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 10.
Perth Scorchers led by skipper Sophie Devine were up against Sydney Sixers led by skipper Ellyse Perry at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, in match no. 34.
Ashleigh Gardner and Melie Kerr spin a web as Scorchers bundle out for 126
The Perth Scorchers batting lineup failed to deliver after skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and opted to bat first. Brooke Halliday and wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney formed a much-needed 85-run stand for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark, and wrestle back the control of the innings towards the Perth Scorchers.
Ashleigh Gardner picked up the wicket of Brooke Halliday to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for the Sydney Sixers. The Scorchers suffered a horrible collapse as they lost their last 9 wickets for just 31 runs and as a result, were bundled out for 126 with four balls to spare. Wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney (44 off 37 balls), Brooke Halliday (41 off 32 balls), and skipper Sophie Devine (11 off 14 balls) were the only batters to score in double digits for the Perth Scorchers.
Ashleigh Gardner picked up her 100th WBBL wicket en route to her WBBL best of 4/21 (4), extending her lead at the top of the wicket-takers list for the Sydney Sixers. Courtney Sippel (2.2-0-12-2), Melie Kerr (4-0-33-2), and Caoimhe Bray (4-0-26-1) were the other Sixers bowlers who provided good support to Ashleigh Gardner from the other end.
Ellyse Perry’s 67 not enough as Sixers collapse but manage to tie
The Sixers skipper Ellyse Perry failed to find support from the other end as she kept losing partners regularly while chasing a total of 127. The 38-run 4th wicket partnership between Hollie Armitage and skipper Ellyse Perry kept the Sixers slightly ahead in the chase. However, a potentially game-changing over from Alana King, removing the opposition skipper Ellyse Perry and Maitlan Brown on successive deliveries, turned the tide in the favor of the Scorchers.
Hollie Armitage and Mathilda Carmichael refused to give up and kept fighting till the very end for the Sixers, pushing the game into the super over. Skipper Ellyse Perry (67 off 53 balls), Hollie Armitage (14 off 19 balls), and Mathilda Carmichael (13 off 8 balls) kept the chase alive for the Sixers. Alana King (4-0-21-3), Carly Leeson (4-0-20-1), and Ebony Hoskin (3-0-12-1) were the stars with the ball for the Perth Scorchers.
It was the first super over of the ongoing 10th edition of the WBBL and both teams ended up with the same score – Sydney Sixers: 15/0 and Perth Scorchers: 15/1 – eventually sharing the points. Skipper Ellyse Perry was named the Player of the Match, for her 12* off 5 in the super over and 67* off 53 in the match, alongside bowling figures of 0/13 (2).
