Scorpions out to sting Tassie tormentors in WNCL final

South Australia skipper Jemma Barsby acknowledges her team faces some sizeable challenges in next Saturday's WNCL final against red-hot reigning champions Tasmania, but unfamiliarity is not among them.

For the second time in as many summers, the Scorpions will square off against the Tigers in Hobart having held their nerve against Queensland Fire for a last-gasp win in what was effectively a semi-final at Karen Rolton Oval yesterday.

As Barsby conceded in the wake of that three-wicket victory achieved in the 50th over, not only does SA nurse "a few sore spots" from last year's grand final defeat at Blundstone Arena, their visit to Tasmania earlier this month also netted consecutive losses as the home team's top-order ran riot.

But with five days to formulate strategies that might turn around that recent form line, Barsby is confident the Scorpions have learned much over the past year during which the Tigers have been the only outfit to whom they've lost.

"I think the belief in the group," Barsby told cricket.com.au when asked what difference she sees in the current team and the one that was crunched by nine wickets in last season's WNCL Final.

"There's been probably four or five of our games this season that have gone down to the last over, so going into a final it definitely helps to have the experience of dealing with those sorts of pressure situations.

"It's exciting to have that.

"Plus it's also about trying to be brave in those clutch moments - don't go into your shell, take the game on and hopefully it comes off."

Certainly, if Saturday's final goes down to the wire, the Scorpions have significant recent experience to call upon.

In addition to the tied match against Victoria when rain prevented a deciding super over followed by a super-over win against Western Australia in Perth, the next game saw the Scorpions sneak home again when WA fell eight runs short needing 14 off Samantha Betts' final over.

Then there were the games against Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in which SA's batters chased down sizeable targets with four or fewer balls to spare.

In yesterday's match against the Fire, SA's hopes of reaching a second consecutive decider seemed slim when top-scorer Emma de Broughe was dismissed for 70, leaving her team with 48 runs to get off 42 balls with Barsby the only remaining recognised batter.

But a timely cameo from Australia leg spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington (24 off 18 balls) and a nerveless knock from 19-year-old pace bowler Ella Wilson in just her second WNCL appearance meant

Barsby knocked off the final two runs required at the start of the ultimate over.

"I wasn't nervous that whole time, it was a relaxed feel," said Barsby, who has taken on the captaincy role from Megan Schutt currently with the Australia women's team defending their T20 World Cup crown in South Africa.

"But credit to the other batters – Emma de Broughe, Maddie Penna, Amanda-Jade Wellington when she came out and took the pressure off me, and then Ella (Wilson) getting that boundary off the last ball of the (second-last) over.

"I was just fortunate enough to be out there at the end."

But while SA's batting has got them over the line in a number of tight finishes this summer, Barsby knows it will be their ability to take wickets at the top of Tasmania's innings that will likely decide this year's title.

Tasmania secured their maiden WNCL trophy last summer when their skipper Elyse Villani (111no) and opener Emma Mannix-Geeves (104no) piled on an unbeaten 205-run stand for the second wicket to reel in the victory target of 243 in the 48th over.

When the two teams met again earlier this month, it was Lizelle Lee (77), Nicola Carey (60) and Mannix-Geeves (59no) who chased down the Scorpions' 244 after Villani fell early, only for the Tigers skipper to dominate again two days later scoring 125no as Tasmania strolled to victory.

"We're going to have to sit down and nut that out," Barsby said about strategies her bowlers might formulate for Tasmania's batters who have been integral to them finishing atop the WNCL table.

"The whole top four are in some pretty good form, so we know we're going to have to put some plans together and bowl well.

"We batted first in those (three) games, and we probably had a lot more dot balls than we would have liked and then didn't execute with the ball and in the field.

"But we've got our learnings from them, so hopefully we can go out there and put a really good performance together."

The other impetus the Scorpions took from yesterday's win was the presence of around 70 former SA women's team representatives who had gathered at Rolton Oval to receive commemorative caps from the SA Cricket Association to recognise their contribution over seasons past.

Barsby said her team was acutely aware of the occasion's significance, and buoyed by the support they received throughout their run chase from the partisan crowd attending the function alongside the scoreboard at the ground's southern end.

"It was pretty special," she said.

"We brought them in to the rooms to sing the song at the end of the day.

"I'd heard that when some of them were receiving their caps today they got pretty emotional, which is what you want to see, to show how much it means to them.

"And to look over at the scoreboard when we were out there, to see 70-odd past players was pretty special, and it was great to have a drink or two with some of them afterwards before we knuckle down for next weekend."