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Sydney Thunder were crowned the inaugural WBBL Champions after beating the Sydney Sixers by 3 wickets on Sunday, with two balls to spare.
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REPORT: THUNDER DOWN SIXERS TO WIN WBBL
The Thunder did it the hard way in the end. They looked endlessly comfortable at 2/99, after great starts by Stafanie Taylor, Rachael Haynes and Alex Blackwell, but Haynes’ run out by Ellyse Perry started the dominoes falling.
Blackwell was the big wicket, clean bowled by Marizanne Kapp at the start of the 19th over, and the Sixers looked a chance to pull off the miracle of all miracles.
But the Thunder lower order snuck through enough runs at the death to take them home, and then Perry unfortunately finished with that wide ball to end it.
The Sixers will rue a couple of fielding slips, especially ones on the boundary that let through valuable runs. They needed everything to go their way defending such a small total, and while they fought hard and got a glimpse of victory late, unfortunately for them it just wasn’t enough.
The Thunder had their own fielding mishaps, and started slowly with the bat, but the form that they’ve shown all season shined through, with the openers Haynes and Taylor getting runs, Blackwell anchoring the innings, and a disciplined bowling performance across the board to restrict the Sixers and really set up the win.
Erin Osborne was named Player of the Match.
Final score
Sydney Sixers 7/115
Sydney Thunder 7/116
It’s a Sydney Derby down in Melbourne today, as crosstown rivals Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers face off in the final of the Women’s Big Bash League at the MCG, with the winners crowned the inaugural champions of the WBBL. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:30pm (AEDT).
It’s a tale of two seasons when you look at the Thunder and Sixers in WBBL01. The girls in green have hugged the top of the table all the way through, while the pink ladies had a horror start with six straight losses before completely turning their fortunes around, winning eight on the trot to finish in third place.
The Thunder were not a fancied side on paper before the tournament commenced, so it was a turn up for the books when they stunned the star-studded Sixers in the first Sydney Smash back on December 6.
That first game witnessed the birth of some of the competition’s stars. Unknown 17-year-old Lauren Cheatle took 4-20, and West Indian import Stafanie Taylor belted 59* to spearhead the chase as the Thunder ran out easy 9-wicket winners.
The second Sydney derby was a different story. The Sixers were on a six-game winning streak heading into their clash at the SCG last Saturday, and that momentum made all the difference.
The Sixers posted a huge total of 172, with big knocks from Healy, Gardner and McGlashan, and while the Thunder chased hard they finished on 9-151, 22 runs short with Marizanne Kapp again the pick of the bowlers.
As well as being local rivals, a lot of the girls on both teams play alongside one another for the NSW Breakers side. 10 of the 11 Breakers who played in the recent WNCL Final will front up for either the Sixers or Thunder this afternoon, including opposing captains Ellyse Perry and Alex Blackwell.
This familiarity means they know each other’s games intimately, so perhaps it will be the less familiar international imports that could prove the difference here.
South African bowler Kapp has been arguably the Sixers’ best player, strangling sides with her disciplined line and deft changes of pace. She is Perry’s best bowling weapon, and if she has another blinder the Thunder will struggle to put runs on the board.
Kiwi batter Sara McGlashan’s incredible knock of 79* off 58 almost single-handedly steered the Sixers to victory over Hobart on Sunday to secure their finals spot. She has a knack for finding the fence, and the Thunder will have to stem the runs or risk her running away with it.
Stafanie Taylor has been pretty quiet since Christmas but did hit 24 in the semi-final, and if she gets going will be very hard to stop. Her and Rachael Haynes have formed one of the most dangerous opening pairs in the WBBL, and they along with Blackwell will be the key wickets for the Sixers.
The Thunder have relied all season on a young but exciting bowling attack, and these girls will be tested more than ever before as they are charged with stopping a formidable Sixers’ batting line-up that is peaking at just the right time.
Both sides have named unchanged squads for the final.
Join The Roar from 1:30pm AEDT for live scores and updates on the game, and post your comments below.
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