WBBL: Sydney Thunder book place in final against Melbourne Stars after thrilling win over Brisbane Heat
The Heat looked home with Laura Kimmince at the crease in the 17th over. But the semi-final then took a dramatic turn with the Thunder pulling off a remarkable victory.
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Clutch bowling by Hannah Darlington and Sammy-Jo Johnson catapulted Sydney Thunder to a thrilling 12-run win over Brisbane Heat and straight into Saturday’s WBBL06 final against the Melbourne Stars.
Young gun Darlington dismissed both Charli Knott and Georgia Prestwidge in the 18th over and Johnson sealed the deal, taking the final wicket of Delissa Kimmince.
“There wasn’t much going through my head, I knew what I had to do, I just had to execute. It was really nice having Sammy-Jo and Rach (Haynes) there talking me through it,” Darlington said.
“The bowling unit that we have at the moment is definitely our strong suit, it’s a really good match up coming up against the top order of the Stars.”
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Devastated Heat skipper Jessica Jonassen admitted her side was bamboozled by Darlington.
“It probably just came down to that the fact that we didn’t have many clear plans in terms of how we would take on Darlington. To her credit she bowled exceptionally well at a really clutch time in the innings” Jonassen said.
Both teams had a lot to prove at North Sydney Oval.
Reigning champions Brisbane Heat were determined to achieve a historic three-peat without last year’s stars Beth Mooney, Johnson and Kirby Short.
The young Thunder squad - featuring eight players under 20 - were determined to rise to the occasion.
Heat’s bowlers each pulled their weight, containing Thunder star batters Heather Knight (17 off 22), Tammy Beaumont (27 off 20) Johnson (13 off 9).
Rachael Haynes mustered a brilliant captain’s knock to steer the Thunder to a 143-run total.
Brisbane chased hard and middle-order hitter Laura Kimmence was lethal with the bat (37 off 17).
But the Thunder’s bowlers Darlington (3-19), Johnson (2-14) and Sam Bates (2-37) ultimately had the patience and maturity to finish it off at the death.
THE MOMENT
Darlington has proved time and time again that she can bowl in the big moments.
In the 18th over, just when the Heat looked like running away with it, the youngster stepped up to the crease to dismiss Knott and Prestwidge.
THE KNOCK
Brisbane’s Laura Kimmence terrorised Sydney with the bat. The middle-order batter hit a whopping 37 off 17, including two fours and four sixes.
“For Laura, the more attacking and aggressive she is, the better she is for our side. She’s continuing to grow and learn as well” Jonassen said.
Only Laura Kimmince! Ridiculous hitting #WBBLFinals pic.twitter.com/iJHbcyscKy
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 26, 2020
THE SPELL
In her first delivery against her former team, it was fitting that Thunder’s Johnson dismissed Redmayne (25 off 19). Johnson also sealed the deal for the lime green, catching Delissa Kimmince off her own bowling in the final over of the match.
Heat internationals Amelia Kerr and Nadine de Klerk were also lethal with the ball. Kerr finished with 1-19 - including 11 dot balls - from four overs and De Klerk notched 2-11 from three overs.
THE QUOTE
“The biggest thing about our group is, Rach (Haynes) says in the huddle every time before we go out there, is to just stay in the contest. Laura Kimmence got away there for a bit but we knew as soon as we got into the lower-order that we could really pull it off, and that’s exactly what we did, there was never a moment we thought we weren’t in it” - Hannah Darlington.
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STARS SPIN, SMASH PAST SCORCHERS INTO FINAL
- Carly Adno
It was billed as the battle of the batters, but in the end it was Alana King who spun the Melbourne Stars into their first WBBL final.
Playing under lights at North Sydney Oval, the Stars cruised to a seven-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers with 22 balls to spare.
Meg Lanning’s side will now wait to see whether they meet the Sydney Thunder or two-time defending champions Brisbane Heat in Saturday night’s decider.
Chasing a modest 126 runs to win, Natalie Sciver (47 not out) and Annabel Sutherland (30 not out) closed out the victory, but it was set up in the field where the Scorchers’ control of the match ended after their powerplay.
Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney were well-set having raced to an opening partnership of 32, but the innings swung with the introduction of King.
The legspinner was brought into the attack after the powerplay and had immediate success, trapping Devine LBW for 12.
It goes without saying that claiming the scalp of the Player of the Tournament would be a turning point, but King then followed it up by dismissing Mooney (27) too.
The all-rounder also picked up the wicket of Amy Jones (6) as she claimed three wickets in three overs.
With their star openers gone, the Scorchers began to collapse.
And they were helped on their way by a near impeccable fielding performance from the Stars – Erin Osborne in particular with two run outs and a catch.
Heather Graham (18) and Nicole Bolton (32) staged a brief recovery, but regular wickets continued to fall until the Scorchers ended their 20 overs 8-125 – a below par total at North Sydney Oval.
Elyse Villani gave the Stars a blazing start, hitting 18 runs off just 10 balls, but she attempted one slog too many and was caught by Graham.
Mignon du Preez (1) was back in the sheds shortly after, bowled by Devine, which left the Stars facing a first – up until then they had never lost two wickets in the powerplay.
Then came the big wicket of Meg Lanning, bowled by Graham for 22.
What should have been a straightforward chase suddenly threatened to become a tricky one.
But the Stars haven’t been the form side all season for no reason and with Sciver and Sutherland in the middle, order was soon restored.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Sophie Devine came into the match having just been named Player of the Tournament for the second time in as many seasons.
It meant the Scorchers star had a target on her back, so when Alana King trapped the Kiwi all-rounder leg before for 12 with her very first ball, it’s no surprise momentum swung the Stars’ way.
And that’s where it stayed.
That was a special spell of bowling from @StarsBBL leg-spinner Alana King! â
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 25, 2020
She finishes with figures of 3-16 from her four overs and that's gotta be our @CommBank Play of the Day #WBBLFinals pic.twitter.com/6NFOUnl5Bd
KNOCK OF THE MATCH
She might be the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, but Natalia Sciver showed she can do the job with the bat too.
The Melbourne Stars’ chase was just threatening to get a bit tricky with the loss of Meg Lanning, but Sciver took little time to restore order.
She hit an unbeaten 47 as she and Annabel Sutherland (30 not out) guided the Stars to a cruisy victory.
BOWLING SPELL OF THE MATCH
Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney were in ominous form for the Scorchers during the powerplay, but that changed as soon as Alana King was brought into the attack.
The Stars’ legspinner made an immediate breakthrough, taking the huge wickets of both openers, as well as Amy Jones in between. King claimed three wickets in three overs to completely change the innings and ended with figures of 3-16.
QUOTE OF THE MATCH
“We had a goal to win this competition and we didn’t, so for me it’s probably a failure. But with cricket you fail a helluva lot more than you succeed.” – Sophie Devine.
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