Scorchers left Star-struck as finals race takes a twist

Sophie Day's outstanding season with the ball has continued as the Melbourne Stars dealt a blow to the Perth Scorchers' chances of a top-two finish in Weber WBBL|09.

After Stars opener Sophia Dunkley (73 off 49) scored her first fifty of the season to help the Stars post 6-157, Day picked up 4-26 - an unprecedented fourth four-wicket haul for the tournament - to see the Scorchers restricted to 9-124 at the WACA Ground.

It meant the second-ranked Scorchers missed a chance to replace Adelaide Strikers on the top of the WBBL|09 table.

The team that finishes on top advances directly to the final, which they host, while the second-ranked team hosts the mid-week Eliminator and Challenger finals.

The Scorchers have one game remaining, against the Strikers on Friday, while they could miss out on a home final altogether to Sydney Thunder, who are one point behind and have a game in hand.

Batting first, Dunkley and fellow England import Alice Capsey (43 off 34) gave the visitors a strong start before a late flurry of wickets saw Annabel Sutherland (9), Tess Flintoff (0) and Sophie Reid (0) depart in quick succession as the Stars were restricted to 6-157.    

The Stars then had the ideal start with the ball as Kim Garth (1-14) removed the dangerous Sophie Devine caught behind for a second-ball duck in the first over.

The Scorchers suffered another blow in the second over when Maddy Darke was caught at mid-off from a leading edge off Annabel Sutherland (2-19).

Day, the tournament's leading wicket-taker, then dismissed the WBBL|09 highest run scorer, with Beth Mooney (3) caught at long on to leave the hosts 3-19.

English imports Amy Jones (42 off 30) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (24 off 29) kept the Scorchers in the hunt, but the latter was stumped off spinner Capsey, before Day removed Jones to extinguish their hopes.

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