The Adelaide Strikers have beaten the Perth Scorchers by 30 in a First Nations game at Karen Rolton Oval to retain the Faith Thomas Trophy.
Winning the toss and electing to bowl first, meant that The Perth Scorchers seam attack had first go on a wicket that provided consistent bounce and sideways movement.
Katie Mack (41) got the hosts off to a quick start, hitting two 4s in the opening over and taking advantage of a quick outfield. With the Adelaide Strikers 0-22 in the first two over, the hosts looked to make the most of a beautiful evening at Karen Rolton Oval.
A combination of touch, control and power saw deliveries race to the boundary with the Strikers 0-40 at the end of the powerplay.
The Scorchers fought back in the overs following the powerplay, with Hoskin and then Leeson getting the ball to move back-in through the air. Led by Smriti Mandhana (41), the hosts continued to build on their original strong foundation, with the cover boundary a favourite of the openers.
The experienced bowling combination of Devine and King brought with it some consistency for the Scorchers to work with, as Smriti Mandhana was caught at mid-off attempting to keep the momentum going.
Wrestling back the run-rate made sure that the Strikers didn’t get away from the Scorchers, with the score 1-81 at the 10 over mark.
The Strikers consolidated after the loss of Mack, stumped off the bowling of King, with McGrath and Wolvaardt keeping a prying line of bowling at an arm’s reach.
The partnership got going after pouncing on a few loose deliveries setting up a massive power surge. While McGrath was dismissed in the first over, the over had begun with consecutive 6s from the bat of Wolvaardt.
Wolvaardt accelerated as a Patterson (14) cameo made sure the total reached 169.
Megan Schutt showed her mastery over swing, with an unplayable inswinger being too good for Darke in the first over. Darke was soon followed by her number 3, with Hemalatha skying a ball to mid-on before Edgar was bowled first rock by an identical inswinger from Schutt.
Schutt’s fellow Adelaide Strikers didn’t let the pressure up, with Mushangwe claiming the massive scalp of Beth Mooney to finish the powerplay – leaving the Scorchers reeling at 4-17.
Devine and Halliday set out to build a partnership and set up a platform to launch from late in the innings. The occasional boundary and quick running kept the Scorchers in the contest, with the paid lifting the visitors to 4-57 at drinks.
The 5th wicket fell with Devine searching for quick runs to stabilize the ever-growing required run-rate, caught in the deep off the bowling of Mushangwe.
The match finished without any threat to the total, as Halliday (47) and Alana King (29*) providing some runs at the back end of the innings. Megan Schutt and Anesu Mushangwe finished with 3 and 2 wickets respectively, with their tight bowling and use of the surface proving too difficult for the Scorchers lineup.
The Adelaide Strikers will play next this Sunday 24 November at Citipower Centre.