Match Recap: Sixers defeat Strikers

Match in a tweet: Sixers go to the top of the WBBL|02 ladder with a four-wicket win 

The score: Adelaide Strikers 10-74 (Smith 3-16, Sthalekar 3-12) in 20 overs lost to Sydney Sixers 6-97 (Perry 48*) in 17.5 overs by four wickets

The hero: It was close call between the Lauren Smith and Ellyse Perry but we thought the Sixers captain should get the nod simply because she ensured her team got home at the end. Opening the batting, Perry played second fiddle throughout the chase but took the matter into her own hands as the Sixers started to lose wickets at the end. Requiring 14 from 18 balls, Perry thumped four boundaries in five balls to finish the match in style. Perry’s unbeaten knock of 48 from 41 balls included seven hits to the fence. 

The support cast: Smith was superb with the ball for the Sixers picking up three wickets with her off-breaks. Brought on to bowl in the 11th over, Smith struck immediately to have Tahlia McGrath caught on the boundary for 15. Next she deceived Beaumont to have the opener stumped for 30 before trapping Coyte in front for a duck. Veteran spinner Lisa Sthalekar also had fine day with the ball picking up three wickets at the end. Both Sixers spinners combined for figures of 7.5-1-28-6 to derail the Strikers.

The stumping: Alyssa Healy continued her sharp work with the gloves, inflicting a brilliant leg-side stumping. Keeping up to the stumps to medium pacer Sarah Aley, Healy moved quickly to her right, caught the ball close to the stumps and whipped of the balls in a flash. 

The collapse: The Strikers were well placed at 1-54 at the midway point of their innings but the wicket of McGrath led to a dramatic collapse. The Strikers would lose their next nine wickets for 39 runs in space of just 57 balls, with Smith's 15th over maiden the pivotal point in which the Strikers lost three wickets. 

The consolation act: Amanda Wellington gave it all with the ball to give the Strikers a slim hope of causing an upset. The leg-spinner picked up the crucial wickets of South Africans Dane van Niekerk (0) and Marizanne Kapp (1), defeating the pair with flight and dip. Wellington also inflicted a run-out and ended the day with respectable figures of 4-0-16-2.

The next stop: The Strikers now have a week off before playing the Stars at the MCG on 10 January, while the Sixers head back home to tackle the Scorchers at Hurstville Oval on 8 January.