Gutted Lanning explains shock call to bat first

A gutted Meg Lanning has conceded her team's upset WBBL final defeat to the Sydney Thunder was "hard to take" after the Stars dominated the competition through the regular season.

The Stars finished the on top of the table, dropping just three matches during the regular season, and cruised through their semi-final against the Perth Scorchers on Wednesday.

However, their much-vaunted batting line-up fell flat against the fired-up Thunder pace attack at North Sydney Oval on Saturday night, scraping to 9-86 from their 20 overs.

The major talking point was around Lanning's decision to bat first after winning the bat flip.

Lanning, recognised as one of the world's best batters in a chase, had bowled first on every other occasion she had won the flip this season, and she hadn't elected to bat first since WBBL|02.

"We just thought our batting line-up was in really good form, and we thought we'd back ourselves in to get a decent score," Lanning said following the seven-wicket defeat.

Coach Trent Woodhill had echoed that rationale on broadcast during the match, saying: "We thought in a final, you set a target.

"We also saw what happened with the Heat and the Thunder (semi-final) the other night.

"(We thought) it was nice to have runs on the board, we just would have liked another 30 or 40 of them."

Thunder speedster Sammy-Jo Johnson, who claimed 2-11 in a brilliant display of swing bowling along with Shabnim Ismail's searing pace, thanked the Stars for electing to bat first given the Thunder intended to bowl had captain Rachael Haynes had the choice.

"We were quite surprised that they wanted to bat first," admitted Johnson, who has now won the WBBL title in three consecutive seasons, having been part of the title-winning Brisbane Heat side the previous two years.

"So we were really happy because we wanted to bowl first, the wicket had a little bit in it and it was seaming around a bit."

Lanning returned to the Stars this season after three years at the Perth Scorchers, reclaiming the captaincy and overseeing a new-look line-up featuring English stars Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt alongside youngsters Annabel Sutherland, Tess Flintoff and Sophie Day.

There was no fairytale finish for Lanning, and the weight of the defeat was apparent as the usually steely Australian captain struggled to compose herself before facing the media.

"I thought the Thunder bowled especially well, Shabnim Ismail and Sammy-Jo Johnson were too good for us and unfortunately we couldn't get the job done tonight,” she said.

"It was very disappointing and to finish like that, it is pretty hard to take, to be honest.

"It's been a challenging tournament and as a group we've come together and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get the job done tonight but I'm very proud of the group and we'll be back again.

"We've built a really good base this year, played some really good cricket, we've got a good group together who enjoy each other's company and we'll get better. We feel like this is the start of something.

"We'd have loved to have won tonight but we'll be back next year."

Much has been made of the influence Woodhill has had on the group after taking over as coach this season.

Originally, former Australia player and high-performance coach Leah Poulton had signed on to replace David Hemp, but when she pulled out to take on a new role with Cricket NSW, Stars list manager Woodhill took her place.

He is not currently contracted for WBBL|07, having also this year taken up a role with Cricket Australia as a player acquisition and cricket consultant for the KFC BBL and the driving force behind new rules for this summer's competition, but Lanning hopes he will return.

"We'd love to have him back, I think he's played a really big part in how successful we've been this year," she said.

Stars XI: Meg Lanning (c), Elyse Villani, Mignon du Preez, Natalie Sciver, Annabel Sutherland, Katherine Brunt, Erin Osborne, Alana King, Tess Flintoff, Nicole Faltum (wk), Sophie Day

Thunder XI: Tammy Beaumont, Rachel Trenaman, Heather Knight, Rachael Haynes (c), Phoebe Litchfield, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Tahlia Wilson (wk), Hannah Darlington, Lauren Smith, Shabnim Ismail, Sam Bates