The Adelaide Strikers have booked their place in a third consecutive Weber WBBL Grand Final, defeating Perth Scorchers by five wickets in front of a record regular season crowd at Adelaide Oval to lock in top spot with a game to spare.
Also to be held at Adelaide Oval, the tournament decider is scheduled for Saturday, December 2, with the Strikers looking to become back-to-back champions in front of their home fans.
Local sensation Darcie Brown revelled in her return to the iconic venue, earning Player of the Match honours with figures of 3-18, highlighted by two wickets in her first over to set the tone.
Skipper Tahlia McGrath won the bat flip, elected to bowl and from there, the Strikers didn’t put a foot wrong. Star international Megan Schutt opened the bowling and was her usual self, bowling tight lines that gave the Scorchers no room to score.
Brown then charged in from the scoreboard end and lit the spark for an explosive performance, finding an edge to dismiss the tournament’s leading run-scorer Beth Mooney with her first delivery. Ripping through Chloe Piparo’s defences just four balls later, Brown had the crowd behind her and the Scorchers 2-4.
Leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington and English international Dani Brown then took inspiration from Brown, with each collecting a wicket in their opening overs to have the heritage scoreboard showing the visitors four wickets down for just 15 runs.
English and New Zealand stars Nat Sciver Brunt and Sophie Devine then began the rebuilding job, carefully accruing a partnership of 47 before McGrath called upon her strike weapon, throwing Brown the ball to complete her fourth and final over.
The pace prodigy didn’t let her captain down, luring Sciver-Brunt into a false shot that fell into the waiting hands of Laura Wolvaardt to have the Scorchers on the brink at 5-62. Finishing with the wickets of Sciver-Brunt, Mooney and Piparo and figures of 3-18, Brown’s performance in such a crucial game will only serve to strengthen the regard she is held in on the game’s biggest stages.
A run-out affected by Wolvaardt, followed by the departure of Devine at the hands of McGrath and a wicket to Schutt eventually saw the Scorchers bowled out for 104, setting a chase for the Strikers that would end in a chance to defend their maiden WBBL title.
It was not a chase without nerves, with the Strikers losing five wickets in pursuit, including a difficult period in the middle overs where they lost 4-18 to have the game up for grabs.
Strikers leading run-scorer Katie Mack again looked solid at the top of the order, but when she fell for 24 to join Wolvaardt and McGrath back in the sheds, momentum had swung the way of the Scorchers.
Bridget Patterson and Gibson then departed to leave plenty of work for Maddie Penna and Wellington to do, and the duo were more than up for it.
Coming together at 5-68, the pair absorbed the pressure to tick off the remaining 37 runs at a canter, highlighted by 31 from 23 balls including a six into the stands from Penna, who hit the winning runs with five overs to spare, bringing the 4,863 fans in attendance to their feet and planning a return to Adelaide Oval a week later.
The Strikers travel to Sydney for their final game of the regular season, facing Hobart Hurricanes on Sunday at the SCG. No matter the result, the Strikers will host the Weber WBBL|09 Grand Final at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, December 2, with first ball scheduled for 6.40pm local time.
Public tickets to The Final will go on sale at 12pm ACDT on Monday, November 27.