Perth Scorchers Women booked their place in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 11 final with a high class, high pressure 11 run win over Sydney Sixers Women in the Challenger at North Sydney Oval.
Asked to bat first on a true pitch, the Scorchers’ innings was built around another masterful knock from Beth Mooney, whose 76 from 44 balls provided both stability and acceleration after an early wobble. Katie Mack gave Perth a brisk start with 40 off 30, striking six fours and a six to take advantage of the fielding restrictions, but her dismissal on 7.2 overs with the score on 66 opened the door for the Sixers.
Sophie Devine fell cheaply soon after, leaving Perth 2 for 89 and briefly halting the momentum as the Sydney attack, led by Maitlan Brown and Ashleigh Gardner, tightened the screws through the middle overs. Mooney, though, remained immovable at one end. She manipulated the gaps expertly and punished anything fractionally off line, collecting 11 fours and a six in a knock that perfectly blended tempo and control.
Paige Scholfield’s 14 off 8 and Maddy Darke’s 9 from 11 ensured the scoreboard kept moving, but it was the late overs surge that truly lifted Perth. Freya Kemp faced just three balls for a single before falling, yet Alana King arrived and immediately changed the tone, hammering 11 from only 7 deliveries with two fours to push the total beyond par.
Chloe Ainsworth chipped in with an unbeaten 8 off 5 as the Scorchers closed on an imposing 183 for 8, despite Brown’s 2 for 24 and Gardner’s 3 for 25 threatening to keep them under 170. Ten wides, 16 extras overall, from the Sixers also proved costly in a knockout contest.
Chasing 184, the Sixers needed their top order to fire, and Sophia Dunkley and Ellyse Perry provided exactly that with a free-flowing opening stand. Perry, fresh from a prolific season, struck 29 from 22 with five boundaries, while Dunkley was all timing and power in her 41 off 30, hitting seven fours at a strike rate of 136.
However, just as the pair looked set to seize control, Perry fell in the eighth over with the scoreboard of Sixers on 58, and Alyssa Healy followed soon after. Dunkley’s dismissal at team score of 74 for 3 in the 10th over shifted the balance firmly in Perth’s favour, turning the chase into a rebuilding job rather than a romp.
Ashleigh Gardner and Amelia Kerr briefly revived Sixers hopes. Gardner’s 26 off 21, studded with one four and a six, kept the rate within touching distance, while Kerr launched a spirited counterattack with 42 from 29, striking six boundaries in a classy display of placement and innovation. Yet regular wickets stifled the chase.
Alana King’s clever variations accounted for three key batters, finishing with an amazing spell of 3/17, and Ainsworth’s discipline up front (1 for 32) set the tone. Maitlan Brown was stumped for 14 and Kerr departed in the last over, the contest effectively slipping away from Sixers. Mady Villiers and Erin Burns swung hard at the death but could only guide the Sixers to 172 for 6.
Perth’s bowlers, backed by sharp fielding and shrewd captaincy from Devine, held their nerve under lights to complete a clinical all-round performance and secure a deserved spot in the final, leaving the Sixers’ season to end one step short of the decider.
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