McGrath, Wolvaardt and Beaumont keep Brisbane Heat winless
Tahlia McGrath led the way for her team with a three-fer, while the rest of her bowling attack chipped in too, to restrict the Brisbane Heat to just 149/9. A 99-run opening stand followed, between Laura Woldvaardt and Tammy Beaumont that put the Adelaide Strikers well on course in chase. Though the Heat picked four wickets and pushed the game till the end, their wait for the first win of the season continued. McGrath finished unbeaten on a run-a-ball 24 in her team's six-wicket victory. This meanwhile, is Heat's seventh loss in eight games.
Heat struggled to get going after being asked to bat first as they lost Grace Harris and Winfield-Hill fell inside the PowerPlay. They limped to 28/2 in 6 overs and recovered a touch, to reach 56/3 at the half-way stage. But just as momentum built, they lost wickets and were never able to fully turn the tide. Nadine de Klerk threw her bat around briefly for a 13-ball 25 and Nicola Hancock's eight-ball 22 allowed the Heat to push to 149/9, with 48 of those coming in the last five overs. But any hopes of completing a full revival enroute to their first points was quashed early by the opening partnership. McGrath and Ellie Johnston then saw the chase through with two balls to spare.
Brief Scores: Brisbane Heat 149/9 in 20 overs (Charli Knott 27; Tahlia McGrath 3-27, Elanor Narosa 2-24, Amanda-Jade Wellington 2-34) lost to Adelaide Strikers 151/4 in 19.4 overs (Tammy Beaumont 64, Laura Woldvaardt 49; Grace Harris 2-28) by 6 wickets
Ellyse Perry's superlative 77 off 43 - laced with 10 fours and three sixes, powered Sydney Sixers as they downed their city rivals by six wickets at the North Junction Oval. Sophia Dunkley scored 44 while Alyssa Healy made 33 to eclipse the efforts of Heather Knight and Anika Learoyd that pushed the Thunder to 174/6.
Thunder were earlier down to 34/4 in the seventh over when Knight and Learoyd came together for a 107-run partnership that powered Thunder towards a good total. This included Knight smashing 21 off a Perry over, with three fours and a six. Both fell at the death but Laura Harris and Lucy Finn collected 24 runs off the last 12 balls to put their side in the driver's seat. Sixers' chase was fueled by big successive partnerships. First, Dunkley (44 off 35) added 58 with Perry for the opening stand. Healy then amassed 54 with Perry for the second wicket. After Healy fell, Perry batted for 3.5 overs with Ashleigh Gardner, who faced just eight of the 23 deliveries. Perry meanwhile blazed away.
Thunder picked a couple of wickets at the death, but Perry stood firm and saw the chase through - hitting the 10th four of her innings in the final over to seal the deal.
Brief Scores: Sydney Thunder 174/6 in 20 overs (Heather Knight 65, Anika Learoyd 43; Maitlan Brown 2-30) lost to Sydney Sixers 176/4 in 19.1 overs (Ellyse Perry 77*, Sophia Dunkley 44, Alyssa Healy 33; Chamari Athapaththu 2-34) by 6 wickets
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