Patterson surprises herself with match-winning knock

In the aftermath of Adelaide Striker’s drama-filled Challenger win over the Brisbane Heat, Bridget Patterson will still desperately trying to wrap her head around how the thrilling final overs played out.

With a spot in the Weber WBBL|08 final on the line and 33 runs needed off the last three overs, Patterson came up clutch with her best performance of the season.

The Strikers No.5 smacked two boundaries off Aussie star Jess Jonassen, then another four and one enormous six (that did damage to some unfortunate soul’s vehicle in the carpark), off Courtney Sippel, to leave just nine runs to get off the final over.

Patterson finished unbeaten on 45 from 26 balls, fittingly named player of the match after securing a showdown with Sydney Sixers in Saturday’s final.

"To be honest, I am in a bit of shock, I'm literally lost for words," Patterson told cricket.com.au after the match. 

"To make two finals in a row (is special) … I’m definitely in a lot of shock right now.

"I was just batting, me and Wolfie (Wolvaardt) had talked about just batting, not thinking too much about the scoreboard. 

"It wasn’t until Wolfie got out I thought I should take some more calculated risks and I was comfortable with Maddie (Penna) coming out, knowing she can clear the rope extremely easily. 

"(But) I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed for a bit there."

A packed Karen Rolton Oval was there to cheer the Strikers home, but the triumphant hosts were permitted little time to soak up the win.

The vagaries of travel at present meant that when Adelaide secured the home Challenger final last weekend and a flight was pre-arranged for the winner of that game to travel on to Sydney on Friday, the only one available was at 6am Adelaide time. 

"Hopefully I can get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, night games are funny things and do weird things to your sleeping patterns sometimes," Patterson said. 

"I’m not too keen to the early flight (but) we’ll take it pretty easy tomorrow, some UberEats and dinner and bring it on."

The Adelaide squad will need to make the most of what time they do have to sleep and recover on Friday, with the final against the Sixers – who have enjoyed the week at home following their final regular season game last Sunday – to begin at 5.20pm AEDT on Saturday.

Patterson said the victory over the Heat would provide momentum, while the Strikers should also take confidence from their back-to-back wins over the Hurricanes and Thunder at North Sydney Oval last weekend.

The Sixers and Strikers split their matches during the regular season – and the Strikers are one of only two teams to beat the Sixers this year – with Sydney winning by 17 runs in their first encounter in Mackay before the Strikers hit back with a thrilling three-run win at Karen Rolton Oval.

"It’s nice to knock off the Sixers for one game but I guess it doesn’t really matter come finals," Patterson said. 

"Funny things happen. We just have to respect them and play the way we want to play." 

WBBL|08 Finals

The Eliminator: Brisbane Heat defeat Hobart Hurricanes by 44 runs

The Challenger: Adelaide Strikers defeat Brisbane Heat by six wickets

The Final: Sydney Sixers v Adelaide Strikers | North Sydney Oval | November 26 at 5.20pm AEDT

Grab your tickets or tune in on the Seven Network, Fox Cricket, Kayo or ABC radio

Tickets for Weber WBBL and KFC BBL games are on sale now. Get yours at cricket.com.au/big-bash