Adelaide Strikers win by eight wickets with 11 balls to spare
What a performance from Sophie Devine. She’s such a likeable character – that dry New Zealand sense of humour, always self-deprecating, straight talking, unflappable. She just goes out there and gets the job done, and she’s done that this season time and time again.
She has 764 runs now for the season! So if she gets 14 more in the final, she’ll pass Ellyse Perry’s record for a WBBL season. She has 18 wickets now for the season as well. But most importantly of all, she’s in the final. Adelaide have been underachievers in several seasons of this competition but not this year. One more win to go.
It all went wrong for Perth from the start. They lost the toss, meaning they had to bat first where they would usually prefer to chase. They lost Meg Lanning early, then two more. They had already lost Nat Sciver and Amy Jones to England duty. Then despite some spade work from Redmayne and Barsby to build a decent total, it wasn’t nearly big enough after the early setbacks.
Their bowling didn’t fare much better, never able to build enough pressure over enough time. A few big overs took the air out of the innings, then the dropped catches deflated them further. They weren’t up to the mark, and the Strikers took the game away.
Next it will be the Brisbane Heat versus the Melbourne Renegades, with me, over on the other OBO. Come over.
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18.1 overs: Adelaide Strikers 130-2 (Devine 65, Patterson 16) First ball of Graham’s over, driven straight for four! Devine does it again. She has batted through the innings so many times this season.
18th over: Adelaide Strikers 126-2 (Devine 61, Patterson 16) Getting into the act now is Patterson, with mid-on and mid-off up. Bashes four back down the ground. Kim Garth the bowler, and why she decides to dig one in short I don’t know. It’s wide too, takes off over the keeper, and goes away for five extras. Then a sixth, as she follows with another wide. That’s almost game over at the Scorchers’ own hand. They haven’t helped themselves. Patterson gets off strike, Devine opens the face and glides the ball away for four! Lovely touch. Takes a single off her toes to level the scores. Garth finishes with a dot, hitting Patterson’s pads, but the over cost her 16 runs.
1 run to win.
17th over: Adelaide Strikers 110-2 (Devine 56, Patterson 11) Bolton back on with the ball, and she’s denied a stumping! That wasn’t Nicole Bolton’s fault. Flights the ball, Patterson skips and slogs and misses it by a mile, and Redmayne doesn’t take the ball cleanly. Bounces off her gloves and away. Next ball, short, and Patterson rocks back to cut four. Then darts a single to mid-on. Devine back at the business end. Good ball right on off stump, blocked back. And that’s the last blocking she’ll do. Walks at the bowler and clubs her for six! Over long-on now. I think that’s her 29th for the season. But after hitting that one straight, she goes across the line next ball, a sort of sweep, and misses.
Adelaide need 17 from 18 balls.
Half century! Devine 50 from 39 balls
16th over: Adelaide Strikers 99-2 (Devine 50, Patterson 6) Here comes that bigger over! Peschel gives her width, and Devine cuts her for four! Peschel bowls width again, but fuller, and Devine is dropped! She’s dropped! That’s the semi-final, and it’s Bolton again! This time off the boundary, in at backward point. A big square drive from Devine, but lofted, reaching for it and getting it towards the toe. The ball is just above Bolton’s head, but not far. Gets both hands to it and only parries it away. She’s had a nightmare of a game. Two runs from the richochet, and Peschel loses her cool thereafter to bowl a couple of leg-side wides. Devines taps her 50th run to midwicket, and raises her ninth half-century for the season. That’s 749 runs so far. Incredible.
Patterson chips a couple of runs over mid-on, up in the circle. Gets away with it. Dips her knees to drag a pull shot square for a single to close the over. A dozen runs from it.
Adelaide need 28 from 24.
15th over: Adelaide Strikers 87-2 (Devine 43, Patterson 3) Heather Graham is back with the ball, the lucky charm. The bellwether. Got tapped in her last over. Could still turn things around with a wicket here. Run, dot, run, run, run. Devine not playing any big shots, getting off strike as soon as she gets on. Patterson tries a lap shot, Graham bowls wider of off stump, Patterson switches to a reverse lap aiming over short third but can’t make contact.
Adelaide need 40 from 30 balls. Just increasing the tension a bit. They need one bigger over.
14th over: Adelaide Strikers 83-2 (Devine 41, Patterson 1) Two runs and the wicket from Garth’s over, and Bridget Patterson is the new player in. Off the mark with a scurried single to cover, Garth has to run and field herself.
Wicket! McGrath 36 c Barsby b Garth (41 balls)
There’s the breakthrough! Barsby puts her body on the line, literally, as McGrath’s pull shot nails her in the sternum. Garth dropped short, McGrath pounded it flat to deep midwicket, and this time a Scorchers outfielder hangs on at the cost of a large bruise. Barsby has worked like a Trojan today, you can’t fault her.
13th over: Adelaide Strikers 81-1 (Devine 40, McGrath 36) Barsby gets through another tidy over for five singles, but that’s just about enough for Adelaide. At one point McGrath shapes to lap the ball, and Barsby pulls out of delivery. Not playing that shot, champ.
Adelaide need 46 from 42 balls.
12th over: Adelaide Strikers 76-1 (Devine 37, McGrath 34) Samantha Betts back on to bowl, and McGrath smokes her straight for six! Sashays down the track, makes it into a length ball, gets under it and gives it a ride! Allll the way down into the crowd, huge hit. And some more sharp calling from Devine gets McGrath another brace to midwicket. Big ground here on the leg side, which is something the women’s game is often denied: the space to create twos.
Adelaide need 51 from 48 balls.
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11th over: Adelaide Strikers 65-1 (Devine 35, McGrath 25) Bolton is back to bowl. She hasn’t provided with the bat today, or in the field. Has to do it with the ball. A few singles worked square. A dot dug back to the bowler. A quick call from Devine to get McGrath back for a second run.
10th over: Adelaide Strikers 59-1 (Devine 33, McGrath 21) Graham is back as the bowlers keep swapping. In at the pads and McGrath can’t make contact. Makes contact with the next one, whacked down the ground and dropped! Dropped by Nicole Bolton at long-on. Bolton didn’t have to move. Those ones look easier than they are though. That was nailed, flat and straight at her. Hit the hands hard with her fingers pointing up, and bounced out. Couldn’t grab it on the rebound either.
It’s Bolton straight back into the fray a couple of balls later too, as Devine muscles another fully back down the ground, wide of long-on for four! Then gets another poor ball on her leg stump and flicks it fine for four more. The over costs 11, and Perth could ill afford that.
Drinks. Adelaide need 68 from 60 balls.
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9th over: Adelaide Strikers 48-1 (Devine 24, McGrath 19) Barsby is on to bowl her off-breaks. Very first ball of her spell, McGrath is kneeling and lapping it over her own shoulder for a couple. Modern styles. A couple of dots, then McGrath shuffles and flicks a run to midwicket. Devine advances to drive one straight. McGrath walks across rather than down to shovel another run square.
Adelaide need 79 from 66 balls.
8th over: Adelaide Strikers 43-1 (Devine 23, McGrath 15) Peschel to continue. Devine smashes another cut shot but it gets slapped down at cover, richocheting for a single but saving three. McGrath defends off the back foot as Peschel drops back of a length. Overpitches and McGrath cover-drives cleanly but the sweeper saves four. Devine finds the cover fielder in the circle, so after that she opens the face rather than driving and gets two fine of backward point. Last ball of the over... full toss, muscled down the ground for four! Just forced through the line of the ball, back the way it came. A good over from Peschel comes undone, and Devine has 23 from 20 balls without really having played a big shot or taken a risk. That’s what she can do.
7th over: Adelaide Strikers 35-1 (Devine 16, McGrath 14) Samantha Betts continues the holding pattern, bowling tight at the stumps with her mediums and conceding four singles. The Strikers pair happy to take their time.
6th over: Adelaide Strikers 31-1 (Devine 14, McGrath 12) Heather Graham comes on with her slippery deceptive mediums. She just collects wickets by the bushel in this comp. Her team needs three or four from her today. Just the four singles from her first over, one from the outside edge.
5th over: Adelaide Strikers 27-1 (Devine 12, McGrath 10) Time for Nic Bolton, the classic left-handed bat who bowls filthy off-breaks. Loops one in that McGrath tonks with a pull shot, it nearly carries to Barsby at deep backward square but bounces in front. Devine defends Bolton on the front foot. You won’t see that too often. It lasts exactly one ball, as the next is short and wide and Devine crashes it through the covers. Four.
So that’s 710 season runs for Devine now. I thought no one would ever break Ellyse Perry’s 777 from last season, but with this innings and possibly a final to come, Devine could be the one. She adds another single here.
4th over: Adelaide Strikers 21-1 (Devine 7, McGrath 9) Peschel is all over the Strikers at the moment. McGrath swinging and missing a couple of times, skewing another couple away for streaking runs. A double then a one. Devine drives nicely to mid-off but only gets one. McGrath gets a full toss but can only clip it straight for the same result. They’re going at five an over despite that big over from Garth.
3rd over: Adelaide Strikers 16-1 (Devine 6, McGrath 5) Garth’s second over starts with a couple of wides, which helps the Strikers on the scoreboard. Devine gets a single. Tahlia McGrath is in at first drop, and she absolutely laces a cut shot for four! Hit as cleanly as Bolton, but into the ground and into the gap. Another wide for Garth follows. Nine-ball over thus far. Lanning runs over to pat her on the back and have a calming word. McGrath edges just wide of the keeper! Dropped! Got gloves to it but Redmayne hadn’t moved quickly enough. It was more a first slip catch, and Lanning did have a slip in place a few balls earlier but had just taken her out. Now puts her back in, but more at second slip than first. That’s no use when Garth bowls wide of off stump and Devine nails another cut for four!
13 runs from the over.
Wicket! Bates run out 1 (9 balls)
2nd over: Adelaide Strikers 3-1 (Devine 1) The pressure tells! Taneale Peschele bowls a maiden to Bates, who just could not lay bat on the swinging ball. Beat the outside edge time and again. In the end Bates decides to walk at the bowler to negate the swing. Slides the ball straight to backward point and just sets off. But Bates could set off because she’s already halfway down. Devine was never going to make it to the striker’s end in time. So Devine sends her partner back, and Bates can’t make it back in.
1st over: Adelaide Strikers 3-0 (Bates 1, Devine 1) The reply is underway, with the New Zealand duo opening up for the Strikers. Kim Garth is on the money straight away, a bit of swing, a couple of singles, a leg bye. Devine doesn’t always open up blazing, often this season she’s taken her time, batted slowly through a chunk of the innings before exploding late. She’ll probably bat that way given it’s a modest target.
Adelaide must chase 127 to reach the WBBL05 final
The innings swung one way and then the other. First the Scorchers were in dire trouble. Then they recovered well enough that they might have posted 140. Then their innings tailed off late. But from their early slump, to post a target above a run a ball is some achievement. Redmayne was excellent, Barsby battled but found a way to support her, and together they dragged their team towards competitiveness.
Graham has a wicket-taking knack every year in this competition, Garth has the proven skills, Barsby can chip in, but there’s a lack of frontline experience after that with the ball.
20th over: Perth Scorchers 126-7 (Garth 2) Sarah Coyte finished the innings off. A sweep for a single from Garth. A meaty slog from Graham that only got one to the midwicket sweeper. Into the pads for a leg bye from Garth. Perfect yorker that Graham digs straight, then sprints back for a second run. Just makes it. Then the attempt to do the same when there was no time to do it. Wickets from the fifth and sixth balls.
Wicket! Carmichael b Coyte 0 (1 ball)
Mathilda Carmichael faces the last ball of the innings. On a hiding to nothing. Steps across to the off side, misses her shot, and accepts a Golden Globe award.
Wicket! Graham run out Devine 6 (8 balls)
Can’t keep Sophie out of the game. A wipe down the ground from Graham, there was only ever one run there but they were probably hoping for an errant throw. In fact they got one, but it still wasn’t enough to save Graham.
19th over: Perth Scorchers 120-5 (Graham 2, Garth 1) Heather Graham with the Irish bowler Kim Garth after the run-out. Schutt does her job: no wicket for her from the over, but only 5 runs at the death.
Wicket! Redmayne run out Price 51 (42 balls)
Misunderstanding. Graham strikes the ball away deep on the leg side. Redmayne takes the first, turns for the second then has to turn back. Price’s throw is on the money and the keeper takes the stumps. The umpire doesn’t bother with a TV replay. Refreshing.
Half century! Redmayne 50 from 41 balls
Megan Schutt returns, on a hat-trick, but Redmayne punches it down the ground for one. That’s her fifty – she’s only hit three fours and a six, but still gone at a strike rate of 122. So she’s been very efficient.
18th over: Perth Scorchers 115-4 (Redmayne 49, Graham 1) A second wicket for Devine, who also bowls her fourth wide and her first no-ball in this over, then her fifth wide trying to avoid the free hit going for runs. She bowls it again, full and straight and it only costs a single. 2 for 23 from Devine’s four overs, so you’ll take the extras if it results in those figures.
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Wicket! Barsby b Devine 31 (37 balls)
Barsby goes! She’s battled hard in the heat, but she knew it was time to move, one way or the other. Three singles from Devine’s over to that point, Heather Graham’s hitting ability to come in next, and only a couple of overs to go. So Barsby, who was flagging, knew it pretty much had to be six or out for her. She advances at Devine, looking to get under the length and lift it over the leg side, but misses the chance of pace and loses her off stump. She’s done a decent job to get the Scorchers something to bowl at.
17th over: Perth Scorchers 107-3 (Redmayne 46, Barsby 30) The luck is with Redmayne today, as she drops to one knee and tries to pound McGrath over midwicket with a slog-sweep, but lands it between the two boundary riders for a couple of runs. McGrath’s slower ball turns into a loopy full toss, but Barsby is advancing and it ends up too high to hit easily. She can only take a single. Redmayne nails a cut shot but only for one. Barsby misses another reverse, but nearly takes out the keeper standing up to the stumps, so the ball gets through everone for a couple of extras. McGrath, annoyed, throws in a bouncer, and it also beats batter and keeper for four more byes. Not the smartest delivery with your keeper up to the stumps. Not many off the bat that over, but 11 to the team score.
16th over: Perth Scorchers 96-3 (Redmayne 42, Barsby 29) This Scorchers pair are running really well in this over. Twice what might have been singles become twos, as Redmayne finds gaps and Barsby rides shotgun beautifully, calling her partner through on both occasions by watching the ball and the fielders and gauging their pick-up times. With the pressure on Bates she bowls a wide, Redmayne gets a single, then Barsby plays another reverse swat for four! It’s coming together late for Perth with 11 off the over.
15th over: Perth Scorchers 85-3 (Redmayne 37, Barsby 24) With Redmayne up and running, Barsby has decided it’s time to hit out or get out. She’s struggling with the heat out there today, given she has multiple sclerosis. She gets lucky with a couple of runs over cover when the catch doesn’t go to hand, then nails a reverse sweep past a diving short third for four. Another decent over, eight from it.
14th over: Perth Scorchers 77-3 (Redmayne 36, Barsby 17) Sarah Coyte now, as the Strikers keep changing up their bowlers. Coyte bowls on middle stump, length ball, and Georgia Redmayne nails it for six! Great shot, clean out of the middle! Across the line, but not a slog, more of a clip shot, and it sails into the stands! What a hit. Her first WBBL six, I think. Then after a couple of singles she goes again, a similar middle stump line and it’s there to be clipped again, this time one bounce for four out at midwicket. Coyte doesn’t adjust her line well enough, bowls on leg stump, and Redmayne glances four! A single back past the bowler to keep the strike, and that makes 17 runs from the over. That was what the doctor ordered.
13th over: Perth Scorchers 60-3 (Redmayne 20, Barsby 16) A solid over for the Scorchers against Tahlia McGrath, finding a single from every ball with the field set back. But Adelaide would happily accept six per over from here. Perth have 42 balls remaining to get some sort of total. These two are set now, they have to go.
12th over: Perth Scorchers 54-3 (Redmayne 17, Barsby 13) Sophie Devine back for another bit of fun, and she could do it standing on her head. Three singles off the bat, and one wide for a bouncer that she fires in just for kicks. Accurate, at the stumps, and the Strikers’ fielding has been smothering.
11th over: Perth Scorchers 50-3 (Redmayne 16, Barsby 11) Still struggling is Barsby. Beaten on the cut again, this time by the leg-spinner Amanda Wellington in her first over. Gets a single, then nearly runs herself out while ball-watching. Redmayne knocks the ball away and sets off for a run, and Barsby only notices and responds when her partner is halfway down. The throw is wide of the keeper, otherwise Barsby would have been gone. Redmayne cuts what should be four but Bridget Patterson does beautifully, sprinting back and sliding across the turf to knock it back and save two.
10th over: Perth Scorchers 45-3 (Redmayne 13, Barsby 9) Jemma Barsby’s day is turning into a bit of a shocker. After a couple of singles to start the Coyte over well for the batting side, she gets a leg-stump pie and misses it completely, thudding into her pad. Those are the sort of missed chances that can make a batter feel like they have no control. Five singles from the over in the end, it would have been a team-lifting over with a boundary thrown in there. Drinks break given the extreme heat in Brisbane - 36 degrees today.
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9th over: Perth Scorchers 40-3 (Redmayne 11, Barsby 6) Every dot ball increases the pressure. Barsby was cutting and missing at Bates last over, now Bates brings on Tahlia McGrath in her own place and Barsby keeps playing and missing the same shot. From the third ball she sprints a single to get off strike. McGrath pitches up and Redmayne gets a thick outside edge for four. Defends the last ball in Test match style.
8th over: Perth Scorchers 35-3 (Redmayne 7, Barsby 5) Sarah Coyte to bowl now, and that is gorgeous first up. Full, swinging, right in at the toes, floating in at the yorker zone on middle stump. Redmayne can do nothing with it. Manages to turn away a single next ball, then Barsby is the one becalmed by Coyte’s perfect length. A third dot ball, into the pads. Too much on leg stump after that, but a single to deep backward is the only cost. But releases some pressure by bowling across the lefty Redmayne with the last ball, outside off, and only a good chase around the boundary keeps the cover drive to two runs. Four from the over in total, the total run rate is 4.38. Ouch.
7th over: Perth Scorchers 31-3 (Redmayne 4, Barsby 4) Schutt won’t bowl out her spell. Interesting. Two left-handers at the crease, I wonder if that’s a consideration? But she got Bolton. Keeping her on would have been the power move. But Suzie Bates is the captain, and she brings on her own workmanlike mediums. Redmayne takes a single, Barsby gets just enough width to carve a boundary through backward point. But she misses out on two similar balls afterwards, swishing at thin air both times, then tries to squeeze a single but runs it straight to backward point. Bates bowling around the wicket to angle in a bit. Tight in at the stumps and Barsby gets a fat inside edge past her leg stump, and again finds the field. Tidy over after that early boundary, pulled it back.
6th over: Perth Scorchers 26-3 (Redmayne 3, Barsby 0) The perfect chance for Tahlia McGrath to bowl, with two fresh players at the crease. Redmayne prods around for a two and a single, Barsby leaves her first ball alone. A delightfully cheap over for the Strikers.
5th over: Perth Scorchers 23-3 (Redmayne 0) Georgia Redmayne, former Hobart Hurricane but from New South Wales, now plays for Perth. She comes out to replace Piparo, then watches from the non-striker’s end as Bolton is dismissed from the last ball of the over after the batters crossed. Jemma Barsby will be next in.
Wicket! Bolton c O'Neill b Schutt 12 (17 balls)
Schutt is on a hat-trick! Two in two balls, bowled short outside off to Bolton. I wonder if that was deliberate, feeding the left-hander’s pet shot while having a strong off-side field in place. Bolton takes it on, makes nice contact, looks great with her front foot up carving the cut away, but it’s airborne and well caught! Another sub-100 strike rate innings from Bolton, and the senior player has given it away with her team in trouble.
Wicket! Piparo c Coyte b Schutt 6 (8 balls)
Megan Schutt bowls her third over, looking to keep the pressure on with the swinging ball rather than save her overs for the death when the ball might not be moving. Plenty of late-over bowling options for Adelaide. And it works! The right-handed Piparo tries to loft over mid-on, but the ball doesn’t swing in this time! It skews off a leading edge high to mid-off where SJ Coyte takes the catch!
4th over: Perth Scorchers 21-1 (Bolton 11, Piparo 5) Overpitched from Devine and Bolton gets a nice simple off-drive down the ground for four. But when Devine gets the length right she’s still swinging the ball and beating the bat. Only six from the over, which the Strikers won’t mind.
3rd over: Perth Scorchers 15-1 (Bolton 7, Piparo 4) Schutt with the third over, and pressing home the advantage. Bolton can’t get anything away and after three dot balls, starts playing loose. Slashes one over cover, mistimed for a couple, then so nearly gets caught at mid-on but it just lands wide and rolls away for four.
2nd over: Perth Scorchers 8-1 (Bolton 1, Piparo 4) Sophie Devine brings the magic. 16 wickets and 699 runs in her regular season, and now she starts with the most valuable wicket of all in her semi-final. Chloe Piparo comes in and smokes four through cover first ball, but Devine keeps swinging the ball and beating the bat thereafter.
WICKET! Lanning c Price b Devine 1 (5 balls)
That’s huge! Lanning caught at backward point. Well, the Strikers should have had her twice already. Schutt’s lbw shout was hitting in line and hitting leg stump. Then Sophie Devine comes on to bowl the second over. Has Lanning plumb first ball after an opening wide, but the umpire doesn’t give it. Nailed on the front pad near the knee roll. But Lanning might be a bit rattled by the close calls, and she just reaches for a wide one and steers it to backward! A bit of outswing helped get that edge.
1st over: Perth Scorchers 2-0 (Bolton 1, Lanning 1) We’re underway at Allan Border Field. Flat pitch, plenty of runs in it. Megan Schutt opens the bowling to Nicole Bolton, with Lanning preferring not to face the ball swinging into her pads. Bolton a left-hander. Beaten first up as Schutt hoops one across her from over the wicket. The second is respectfully blocked. The third, just a single to cover. Lanning will have to face. Huge appeal first up! Swinging in and nailed on the pad! But maybe just an inside edge, and just outside the line. Lanning taking guard on off stump. Survives. Schutt just a touch too short next ball and Lanning gets under it to flip it away to deep backward for a run. Bolton to face the last, and it beats her top edge for bounce after an attempted cut.
So to start with, it’s all about the Adelaide bowlers and whether they can rein in Meg Lanning and company. A massive loss for Perth with England keeper and opening bat Amy Jones now missing for Three Lions duties. She’s a double value player and one of the fastest scorers in the world at the top of the order. Lanning’s quality is known, Bolton has a lot of experience but is more naturally at home in the longer forms than the 20-over stuff and has recently been eased out of the Australian team. A career T20 strike rate of less than a run a ball speaks to that. There are a few question marks around the rest of the top order as we get quickly into the all-rounders.
Adelaide, meanwhile, have a varied and threatening bowling attack. Megan Schutt rarely gives away more than a run a ball, Amanda Wellington can shred her leg-breaks more than anyone in the country, and Sarah Coyte is a real clutch player with her seamers.
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Teams
Perth
Nicole Bolton
Meg Lanning *
Chloe Piparao
Georgia Redmayne +
Jemma Barsby
Heather Graham
Kim Garth
Mathilda Carmichael
Samantha Betts
Taneale Peschel
Kath Hempenstall
Adelaide Strikers
Suzie Bates *
Sophie Devine
Tahlia McGrath
Bridget Patterson
Katie Mack
Tegan McPharlin +
Annie O’Neil
Amanda Wellington
Sarah Coyte
Megan Schutt
Alex Price
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Adelaide Strikers win the toss and bowl
The women in blue will take the ball first, and let Sophie Devine unleash later in a run chase. That doesn’t seem like too bad a plan.
Preamble
We’re nearly there. It’s been a long season, games ahoy, and the frantic final stages where the perennial contenders the Sixers were knocked out, and Adelaide nearly won the hosting rights for the finals weekend but stumbled at the last hurdle. So Brisbane have the matches and the home advantage, as well as being the table-topping side and the only team not to lose English players who have had to take off for national duties. But before the Heat contest their right to appear in another final, the Strikers and Scorchers will go first.
