Carmichael guides Sixers home in last-ball thriller

A nerveless innings from Mathilda Carmichael has guided the Sydney Sixers to a nail-biting fourth-straight win against the Hobart Hurricanes as the magenta’s resurgence in WBBL|09 continues.

Needing 30 off the last 18 balls to chase down the Hurricanes’ 8-139, Carmichael (32no off 21 balls) smashed Hurricanes speedster Shabnim Ismail for three boundaries in four balls to rapidly swing the contest back in her side’s favour in the 18^th over.

Some shrewd partnership batting alongside Kate Peterson (10no) then left the Sixers requiring two runs off the final two balls, with a single to Carmichael off the penultimate delivery leaving seamer Peterson to finish things off.

And she did exactly that, nudging one into the leg side to complete a nerve-racking victory.

After slumping to 1-5 in a poor start to their Weber WBBL season, the Sixers have now won four games in a row and have positioned themselves as a genuine finals contender.

Earlier, Sixers captain Ellyse Perry won the bat flip and opted to bowl first, and despite an early Lizelle Lee onslaught the decision looked a smart one.

After Lee fired the Hurricanes to a fast start, racing to 0-42 after five overs, the home side continued to lose wickets at inopportune times as the Sixers cut short any partnership before they could get going.

Opening partner Bryony Smith’s horror run continued, the ‘gold’ draft selection from England falling for 11 (her joint-highest score in WBBL|09) as her tally of 46 runs from eight innings has returned an average of less than six.

Elyse Villani and Nicola Carey both fell after bright starts, the latter bowled around the legs by Ashleigh Gardner (1-27).

Heather Graham (36 off 28) at one stage threatened to propel the Hurricanes north of 150, however they managed just 17 runs from the last four overs as Lauren Cheatle (2-23) led a tight bowling effort by the visitors.

Cheatle’s two wickets took her to equal first – alongside Melbourne Stars pair Annabel Sutherland and Sophie Day – atop the competition wickets tally on 19.

The Sixers chase got off to a strong start as Perry looked at her ominous best before departing for 24, as Australia teammate Gardner soon picked up the slack.

At one stage the Sixers needed just 56 off 48 with seven wickets in hand, but her dismissal to young leg-spinner Smith triggered a mini collapse of 4-23 as Smith (3-20) and Graham (3-18) swung the match right back in the home side’s favour.

That was until Carmichael’s arrival at the crease – the impressive No.7 positive from the outset in the middle of Bellerive Oval.

Next up, the Sixers face a sterner test against the Scorchers on Thursday night, while the Hurricanes have a short turnaround before facing the Heat in Brisbane on Wednesday.

Weber WBBL|09 Standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	14	11	3	0	0	1.154	0	22
2 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	14	8	6	0	0	0.784	0	16
3 Brisbane Heat Women HEA	14	8	6	0	0	0.203	0	16
4 Sydney Thunder Women THU	14	7	6	0	1	0.298	0	15
5 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	14	7	7	0	0	-0.253	0	14
6 Hobart Hurricanes Women HUR	14	6	7	0	1	-0.597	0	13
7 Melbourne Stars Women STA	14	6	8	0	0	-0.779	0	12
8 Melbourne Renegades Women REN	14	2	12	0	0	-0.978	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points