Match 7 summary: Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Thunder – WBBL
An extraordinary performance by a 16-year-old helps Sydney Thunder defeat the defending champions by 7 wickets at Sydney on Sunday.
Winning the toss, Heat opted to bat on a good solid track for batting. Opening the inning Beth Mooney and Kirby Short gave a good start to Heat as they had a decent partnership of 44 runs before Mooney got cleaned up by Samantha while she tried to launch the ball out of the park.
Following her the allrounder, Grace Harris showed yet another instance of her issues in running between the wickets as she got run out again, the second time in two matches. Even the skipper after getting 15 runs, couldn’t convert the start as she was dismissed by Nida Dar. The batters following her did not score much except the senior pro, Jonassen who scored a useful 42, which helped Heat to set a target of 151 runs. With the ball it was Samantha and Nida did a great job in restricting such a quality squad for 150 by picking 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
Chasing the target of 151, The Thunders had a thundering start as the openers put up a partnership of 48 runs in just 4 overs. Stalenberg and Priest were in full flow, smashing the ball to the boundaries with ease. Sadly, playing one shot many, Stalenberg was dismissed by Johnson and Priest was dismissed by Harris. Immediately after the fall of openers, even the skipper followed them after scoring just 5 runs. From 48 for 0 to 53 for 3 – it looked like the defending champions will continue to dominate. Then came the twist in the tale, in the form of an excellent partnership between the Senior pro and the young 16 year old. The duo of Blackwell and Litchfield had a match-winning partnership of 97 runs which helped Thunder to chase the target with ease. The 16-year-old, Phoebe Litchfield, looked great and she looks definitely the future of Southern Stars. It was amazing to see such a cool and calm act from a young player in such a pressure situation. All credits to Blackwell as her experience and suggestions helped Litchfield. The 16-year-old got to her first Half Century of WBBL her inning included of 52 runs in 48 balls with 9 fours and she was well supported by Blackwell who scored 42 in 27 balls including 4 fours and 1 sixes. Finally, Thunder completed the chase in 19 overs and opened their account in the points table.
Brief Scores: Heat 150 for 9 ( Jonassen 42, Bates 3 for 33) lost to Thunder 153 for 3 ( Litchfield 52*, G.Harris 1 for 19 ) by 7 wickets
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