Ellyse Perry went ahead with the bat as the Sydney Sixers clinched a strong win over city rivals Thunder in the Rebel WBBL.
At Drummoyne Oval, Perry took the time to get used to difficult stroke conditions but flourished when she found her feet and hit 81 to lead her team to 3-152.
The Thunder never really got going in the chase, losing the regular wickets 8-112 as the Sixers topped the narrow WBBL | with a 40-run victory 05-table jumped.
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81 runs, a wicket and a handy grab. Just another night in the office for Ellyse Perry! 🤩 #WBBL05 pic.twitter.com/W9v3oMf25w
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 15, 2019
The Sixers opening players Perry and Alyssa Healy, sent by the Thunder, started prudently and only scored 24 runs after the powerplay.
Healy rode her luck, giving life to nine, 20 and 24, before finally exploding to take over 16 Rene Farrell runs in the 12th.
But just as she got started, she was surprised by the bowling of left-wing spinner Sam Bates, who scored a 29-ball-40 goal.
Ashleigh Gardner (16) found the limit only once before she was fired, but Perry anchored the innings superbly to catch up with her half a century ago.
She completed 19 runs in the final before sacrificing her wicket to receive an extra run from the last delivery when the Sixers ended at 3-152.
Thunder openers Rachel Priest and Rachael Haynes, who were promoted from third place and Naomi Stalenberg was dropped for the match, remained cautious in response, and the pressure paid off when Priest retired in the fifth round for 16 against spinner Ashleigh Gardner ,
From 1 to 19, when the Thunder was at 2 to 22, when Marizanne Kapp’s crazy Haynes was boxed for four out of 15 deliveries.
The Sydney Smash is magenta once again and the @SixersWBBL find themselves back on top of the #WBBL05 ladder!
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 15, 2019
Scorecard: https://t.co/sbTvhCuv9H #WBBL05 pic.twitter.com/2e2D1P1vex
Normal wickets continued to fall as the Sixers bowlers split the loot, and while a late rear guard of Hannah Darlington (23) and Rene Farrell (23) helped limit the damage to the thunder’s net run, they finished 40 runs behind,
Kapp was brilliant with the ball in front and took 1-9 of three overs, while Sarah Aley picked up two wickets from her four overs.
