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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Scott Heinrich

Melbourne Stars beat Perth Scorchers: Women's Big Bash League semi-final – as it happened

Annabel Sutherland and Nat Sciver
Annabel Sutherland and Nat Sciver celebrate after seeing the Stars home in the first WBBL semi-final against Perth Scorchers at North Sydney Oval. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Summary

The Stars had never been to a WBBL semi-final before tonight and now they are through to their first final after a convincing defeat of Perth Scorchers. The formbook predicted a result like this - the Stars have now beaten the Scorchers three times from three attempts this season - and they will be favourites again in the decider, whether they meet Brisbane Heat or Sydney Thunder.

This triumph was built on a winning toss, a lethal performance with the ball and a clinical run-chase. The key to dismantling the Scorchers was at the top of the order, and once both Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney went for not that many it was always going to be tough going for Perth. Having gone wicketless in the power play, the Stars struck in the first ball after it courtesy of Alana King and it was one-way traffic from there. King returned 3-16 in a decisive spell and though the Scorchers did well to post 125-8 after their earlier woes, it would never be enough.

There were hiccups for the Stars early in their chase - when Meg Lanning fell to a stunning Heather Graham delivery in the seventh over they were 60-3 - but Natalie Sciver (47no) and Annabel Sutherland (30no) were untroubled in seeing the No 1 seed home with 22 balls to spare. They will be hard to beat in the final.

Thanks for your company tonight. Please join me again tomorrow night for the Heat-Thunder semi-final.

Updated

Melbourne Stars win by seven wickets

16.2 overs: Melbourne Stars 127-3 (Sciver 47, Sutherland 30) Sutherland clears mid-off for four and the Stars are through to the WBBL final.

16th over: Melbourne Stars 122-3 (Sciver 46, Sutherland 26) A Graham full-toss is given the treatment it deserves by Sciver, who carts it through midwicket for four. Now just four runs needed for victory.

15th over: Melbourne Stars 113-3 (Sciver 39, Sutherland 24) Woohoo! Huge six! Sutherland moves her feet as if about to hit through midwicket but straightens up and middles one high and handsome over Betts’ head for maximum effect. A sweet clip off her feet to the fence soon follows and, all of a sudden, the Stars are on the doorstep of victory.

14th over: Melbourne Stars 100-3 (Sciver 37, Sutherland 13) Nice roll of the wrist from Sciver, who beats short fine-leg to send Glenn to the fence. Sharp running between the wickets then turns a sure one into a frantic two. Good knock this, from Sciver. Ten off the over and a single off the last delivery brings up the hundred for the Stars.

13th over: Melbourne Stars 90-3 (Sciver 28, Sutherland 12) Peschel hasn’t been at her best tonight and easy ones and twos continue to flow in her third over. The Stars now need just 36 runs off seven overs.

12th over: Melbourne Stars 82-3 (Sciver 22, Sutherland 10) No repeat pearler from Graham - to be fair, she might never bowl a delivery like the one that did for Lanning again in her life - and six runs is the net yield from her over. Half a stumping chance in there somewhere but, yep, Perth need some more wickets. And soon.

11th over: Melbourne Stars 76-3 (Sciver 18, Sutherland 9) Just three singles from Devine’s second over. The Stars are now leaning to the side of patience as they approach their target. What the Scorchers need is a collapse, right Ravi?


10th over: Melbourne Stars 73-3 (Sciver 16, Sutherland 8) Another heart-in-mouth moment for the Stars as Sciver’s attempted sweep finds the top edge and shoots high in the sky behind the keeper. Good over from Betts. Just the three singles. The Stars look on track but they’re being made to work for it.

Another look at that Graham delivery to get rid of Lanning. Wowee.

9th over: Melbourne Stars 70-3 (Sciver 14, Sutherland 7) When you take a big wicket the last thing you want is a horrendous misfield that releases the pressure. But that is just what the Scorchers get as Cleary lets one slip through her fingers at mid-on and turns a single into a boundary. Ouch.

8th over: Melbourne Stars 63-3 (Sciver 12, Sutherland 2) Sorry, didn’t see too much of Betts’ first over. Too mesmerised by that delivery from Graham. But I can report that the eighth over of the innings went for three runs. As you were.

WICKET! Lanning b Graham 22 (Stars 60-3)

7th over: Melbourne Stars 60-3 (Sciver 11, Sutherland 0) Graham into the attack with her medium pacers. She’s welcomed to the fray by Lanning, who punches over mid-on for four, but the seamer responds in magnificent fashion to take the top of off-stump with a real peach of a delivery to conclude the over. Almost came from nowhere but a much-needed and possibly pivotal strike for the Scorchers. Really, that was one hell of a ball.

6th over: Melbourne Stars 54-2 (Lanning 17, Sciver 11) More punishment for Peschel, whose full-toss to Lanning is given the requisite treatment to the extra-cover fence. The power play is over. The Stars are motoring towards their first WBBL final.

5th over: Melbourne Stars 47-2 (Lanning 13, Sciver 11) The boundaries are coming thick and fast and Sciver notches No 9 of the innings with a wristy flick off Cleary to fine-leg. Cleary responds well to make that the only scoring shot of the over. It’s pretty simple for the Scorchers: they need wickets. Eight of them.

Updated

4th over: Melbourne Stars 43-2 (Lanning 13, Sciver 7) Crunching sweep from Sciver sends Glenn over square leg for four and then Lanning gets in on the act with a similar shot that she keeps low and out of trouble. If that was finesse her next shot was brutality: a straight drive that sped to the fence at great speed. They want this done quickly, the Stars.

3rd over: Melbourne Stars 29-2 (Lanning 5, Sciver 2) Lanning gets into the swing of things and silences any murmurs of confidence in the Scorchers camp with a crunching boundary through the covers. The runs are flowing thickly enough but two early wickets keeps the Scorchers in it.

Updated

WICKET! du Preez b Devine 1 (Stars 20-2)

Devine strikes with her first ball! It’s a ripper of a yorker, going slightly down leg but good enough to ricochet off du Preez’s boot en route to the stumps. Just what the Scorchers need if they’re any hope here.

WICKET! Villani c Graham b Glenn 18 (Stars 19-1)

2nd over: Melbourne Stars 20-1 (Lanning 0, du Preez 1) The Scorchers take the pace off the ball with Glenn opening at the other end. It’s all the same to Villani, who uses her feet for a boundary through the covers but meets her demise next ball when picking out Graham at deep midwicket. Short but sweet from Villani.

Updated

1st over: Melbourne Stars 14-0 (Villani 14, Lanning 0) Plenty of zip in Peschel’s opening couple of balls but Villani isn’t cowered as she pulls for a boundary that almost finds the fielder in the deep but no such issues next ball as she clears all and sundry for a big six. The over ends with a four past point in what amounts to a wonderful start for the Stars. And for Villani!

Perth Scorchers 125-8

A tally that looks insufficient but one that is larger than seemed likely when Mooney fell for 27 in the 11th over to leave the Scorchers on 51-4. A late flurry of runs from Graham (18), Bolton (32) and Glenn (19) restored some respectability but the damage had already been done. After Devine and Mooney failed to get anywhere near their triple-figure opening stands of their past two attempts, sharing just 32 runs here, Perth were always going to be playing catch-up. King was supreme in striking first ball after the power play, removing both openers and returning 3-16 from her four overs. The match now looks the Stars’ to lose.

Updated

WICKET! Bolton run out 32 (Scorchers 125-8)

20th over: Perth Scorchers 125-8 (Peschel 0) Bolton reverse sweeps Sciver for four, watches on as four byes follow behind the keeper and then hooks a short one to the fence in what amounts to a respectable final over for the Scorchers. Bolton is run out on the final ball of the innings going for a quick single, but who can blame her?

WICKET! Carmichael run out 1 (Scorchers 107-7)

19th over: Perth Scorchers 111-7 (Bolton 22, Peschel 0) The Scorchers go for a maniacal second run to deep mid-wicket and Carmichael is well short of her ground as Day collects the throw-in and breaks the stumps.

Updated

WICKET! Glenn st Faltum b Day 19 (Scorchers 106-6)

Day continues to toss it up and she finally gets reward as Glenn meanders out of her crease but plays all around the ball and is stumped. Nice delivery, nice glovework.

18th over: Perth Scorchers 106-5 (Bolton 18, Glenn 19) Glenn goes for a big swipe to the leg-side but manages no more than a huge top-edge that flies over the keeper’s head for two. Another couple follow over mid-wicket to bring up the Scorchers 100 and Glenn celebrates with a boundary over extra-cover in a rare good over for Perth.

17th over: Perth Scorchers 95-5 (Bolton 17, Glenn 10) Day returns. The Scorchers struggle to get the turning ball away - as they have done all night - but a thick edge off the last ball of the over at least brings Glenn two runs. Doesn’t look nearly enough even with three overs to go.

16th over: Perth Scorchers 88-5 (Bolton 15, Glenn 5) Glenn announces her arrival at the crease with a well-struck boundary off Sciver. Much more of the same is needed in the last four overs.

Updated

WICKET! Graham lbw b Sciver 18 (Scorchers 82-5)

Sciver returns with two overs of her allotment left to bowl and she makes an immediate impact, Graham stepping inside the line to open her scoring options behind the wicket but succeeding only in getting trapped plumb in front by a slower ball. A handy partnership of 31 comes to an end.

15th over: Perth Scorchers 80-4 (Graham 17, Bolton 13) Night has fallen in North Sydney and Day comes on with her gentle left-armers. Bolton goes for a huge tonk but misses, and the ball just misses the leg-stump, with a wide, a bye and a few singles all else that there is to report.

14th over: Perth Scorchers 74-4 (Graham 15, Bolton 11) Flintoff on for the Stars. Bolton get a straight one on a fullish length and drives smartly straight past the bowler for a nice boundary. Bolton doesn’t quite get the same connection later in the over but the result is the same in a good over for the Scorchers.

13th over: Perth Scorchers 63-4 (Graham 13, Bolton 2) Finally, a boundary! Graham hits Perth’s first in nine overs and then immediately goes again, hoicking King over mid-off in a rare bright period for the Scorchers. That’s a return of 3-16 from King. Lovely stuff. I can see now why Belly pre-emptively wrote a song, and an album, in her honour.

12th over: Perth Scorchers 54-4 (Graham 4, Bolton 2) The Stars can sniff blood and return to Brunt earlier than they might have anticipated. The Scorchers return to consolidation and eek out the odd single here and there. But back to King: 3-7 after three overs. Wow.

WICKET! Mooney c Sciver b King 27 (Scorchers 51-4)

Huge wicket. The urgency of the situation was weighing on Mooney and she perishes to a poor, rushed shot, picking out Sciver at mid-off with a shot that was meant to be full-blooded but was no better than tepid.

10th over: Perth Scorchers 49-3 (Mooney 26, Graham 2) The Stars are humming in the field, energetic and urgent. Osborne completes her over and at the halfway point of their innings the Scorchers have so much work to do. But Mooney is still there. And that counts for something.

WICKET! Piparo run out 0 (Scorchers 43-3)

What a calamity. The Stars stick to spin and Piparo is centimetres short at the striker’s end as Osborne collects the ball off her own bowling and throws down the stumps. No runs for Piparo. Nothing going right for the Scorchers.

9th over: Perth Scorchers 43-2 (Mooney 22, Piparo 0) King is absolutely killing it. Giving it plenty of air and plenty of revs. A wicket and only two runs conceded. A return of 2-4 after two overs. Take a bow. Big job now for Mooney and co.

WICKET! Jones c Osborne b King 6 (Scorchers 42-2)

King again! The Scorchers want a piece of the leggie but she’s too canny for them, this time Jones picking out Osborne at deep mid-off. Issues for the Scorchers.

8th over: Perth Scorchers 41-1 (Mooney 20, Jones 6) The Stars think they have Mooney courtesy of a brilliant direct hit from Du Preez, but the opener slides the bat and is safely home. Four singles follow and the early advantage certainly rests with the Stars.

7th over: Perth Scorchers 34-1 (Mooney 17, Jones 2) Brilliant start from King. She very nearly also got Jones, who tried to go big over mid-off - and succeeded, but only just.

Updated

WICKET! Devine lbw b King 12 (Scorchers 32-1)

King is the queen (of post-power play). First ball, King pitches one up, gives it some air, and that’s too much for Devine to resist. But her muscular sweep is too ambitious as she misses and is trapped in front. Contained during the power play, Devine was jittery and pays the price.

6th over: Perth Scorchers 32-0 (Devine 12, Mooney 17) Sciver returns and very nearly pulls off a what would have been a tremendous run-out as the Scorchers hare off for a quick single. She misses at the striker’s end but either batter would have been out with a direct hit. The power play concludes and the Scorchers have a careful start, but it’s still a start.

5th over: Perth Scorchers 27-0 (Devine 10, Mooney 15) Osborne again. Another tight over. Devine and Mooney yet to open their shoulders. But they’re still out there and that’s the main thing.

4th over: Perth Scorchers 21-0 (Devine 5, Mooney 13) Brunt now on from the other end and she gets a thick edge from Mooney, but there is no slip in place for the power play and the ball races away for the game’s first boundary. A wide follows but elsewhere it’s a good over. Hooked up to a mic, Mignon du Preez tells commentators and the viewing audience the Afrikaans for ‘nice ass’. At least I think that’s what she said.

3rd over: Perth Scorchers 13-0 (Devine 5, Mooney 7) Early change as Brunt makes away for Osborne’s off breaks. Probing stuff as the Scorchers openers trade in no better than singles. Excellent start from the Stars attack.

2nd over: Perth Scorchers 8-0 (Devine 3, Mooney 4) Sciver from the other end. She errs onto both batters’ pads but is taken for a couple of singles, and there’s a wide in there somewhere, but otherwise it’s a good start from the seamer. Nice and tight. Early days but the Scorchers openers are yet to flex their muscles.

1st over: Perth Scorchers 4-0 (Devine 2, Mooney 2) Brunt opens for the Stars. Devine gets off the mark at the first time of asking with a single and Mooney then emulates the feat. A couple of dot balls and another couple of singles follow as the Scorchers make a watchful start.

We are close now. Very close. Mooney and Devine are walking out to the middle. Get ready.

Updated

Farewell, Sarah Aley. We always picked up what you put down.

Good question.

With 448 runs at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 130 - with five wickets thrown in for good measure - it was little surprise that White Ferns captain Sophie Devine was named the WBBL player of the tournament for the second straight year. The woman is a machine.

If you’re looking at the Stars line-up and thinking it has a decidedly Scorchers look about it, you’re not imagining things.

Updated

Teams

The Stars bring in Osborne. Graham returns for the Scorchers and Jones fit to bat at first drop.

Stars have won the bat flip and will bowl first

The Stars love to chase. Mooney and Devine to have first crack.

Preamble

Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the opening fixture of the finals series at North Sydney Oval. This is the deepest Melbourne Stars have gone in a WBBL season and they are most worthy of their place in the knockouts, having proven themselves as the team to beat after the 56 games of the regular campaign. The Stars have beaten Perth Scorchers twice this season - by margins of eight wickets and six runs - and will rightly start favourites to advance to the decider, where lying in wait will be the winner of tomorrow’s other semi-final between Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder.

But despite their excellence for much of WBBL|06, the Stars have dropped their past two matches and have some questions to answer tonight. The Scorchers, too, enter this semi-final on the back of defeat, losing seven wickets for just 38 runs in a surprise loss to Adelaide Strikers last Sunday. In a weekend double at this venue, Scorchers openers Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney shared in consecutive triple-figure stands - on the Saturday they batted right through to inflict a crushing 10-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes - and much will again hinge on their exploits at the top of the order.

This encounter should very much be a war of the willow, with the WBBL season’s three top batters all engaged. Splitting Mooney and Devine is the Stars skipper, Meg Lanning. All three can be expected to fill their boots on the acquiescent North Sydney Oval environs, but one suspects the Stars will be better equipped to cover a rare Lanning no-show than the Scorchers if one, or both, of Mooney and Devine miss out.

But we shall see. This should be a great contest. If you’d like to get involved, drop me an email or tweet @scott_heinrich.

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