Fielding brilliance helps Heat stop slide

Having dropped three games on the trot then a crucial chance from Sydney Thunder's dangerously in-form opener Phoebe Litchfield, Brisbane Heat sorely needed a moment of inspiration if they were to prevent their Weber WBBL title hopes slipping into free-fall.

And so it was that a double-act of Amelia Kerr and Courtney Sippel on the deep mid-wicket boundary, immediately in front of an enthralled Adelaide Oval crowd which grew to exceed 4,000 fans, removed Litchfield and set the Heat on track for a 22-run win.

The victory meant not only did Brisbane snap a losing streak that had stalled their early season momentum, they also secured a finals berth for the upcoming play-offs although they will be forced to wait and watch as to where they ultimately finish and who and where they play.

Batting first on a pitch that Thunder captain Heather Knight described as "tacky" given it had remained under covers as 23mm of rain fell in Adelaide across Thursday, the Heat battled steady drizzle throughout their 20 overs that yielded 8-160.

But after the dangerous Litchfield clubbed a thunderous off-drive from Heat skipper Jess Jonassen at Grace Harris who was unable to grasp the stinging chance, the Thunder finished the four-over Power Play 0-37 and on target for the sizeable chase.

Litchfield might then have thought her sweetly timed flick from Nicola Hancock had cleared the rope despite the vast size of the playing arena in the first match of the WBBL Stadium Series, but instead of six she found her way heading back to the sheds after close scrutiny from the third umpire.

The off-field adjudication was needed to rule on whether Kerr had made contact with the boundary rope as she hauled in the catch then deftly flicked it back to Sippel, who admits she was taken a little by surprise that the speed and proximity from which the relay throw came.

"We didn't actually communicate much at all," Sippel said of the decisive moment that led to the steady loss of Thunder wickets before Jonasson (4-26) destroyed their lower-order.

"But I knew Melie (Kerr) was closer to the ball than I was, knew she was going to go for it and then I knew it was also getting close to going over the rope.

"So I just stayed near her and hoped for the best that she was going to flick it back.

"I thought I was a little too close in the end, but watched it in (to the outstretched left hand)."

From 1-54 after seven overs, the Thunder slipped to 3-70 midway through their chase and ultimately lost 3-6 at the end as the required rate spiralled beyond two per ball.

But as Knight saw it, the damage had been done earlier with the ball when Brisbane added 95 from their final 10 overs after being held to 2-65 in the first half of their innings on a sluggish pitch and an outfield further slowed by the afternoon drizzle.

"I think 160 was probably about 10 or 15 above par," she said of the Heat's final total.

"It felt like we kept taking wickets, but their way is to keep going hard and 160 was probably a bit much.

"A few loose balls towards the back end, I think the last 10 went for a fair few.

"Disappointing, but ultimately we didn't bat at our best either.

"It hasn't quite clicked the last couple of games, but going back to what's worked so successfully throughout the competition is definitely the order for the last game."

The Thunder retain hopes of reaching the play-offs although their hopes of hosting a final took a hit after tonight's loss, but the various scenarios playing out as the season reaches its climax were not a talking point heading into the start of the Stadium round according to their skipper.

The equation now is starkly simple – beat cross-town rivals Sydney Sixers in their final preliminary game on Sunday and they will finish second and host The Challenger on Wednesday.

"There's obviously a lot going on with who's winning and the connotations for finals, but we talked yesterday about not focusing on that too much and we've just got to do our job," Knight said post-game.

"If you focus too much on what's going around you sometimes that can take away from you, so we've got one more game on Sunday at the SCG which will be really cool and it's all about how we can win that game and where we finish.

"We can't control that now."

That is no longer a problem for the Heat, who Sippel revealed were feeling the pinch after a hat-trick of losses but had resolved to keep playing their style of game despite recent history.

Asked if nerves were raw prior to and during the Thunder clash, Sippel said: "Not today, but a little bit in the last couple of days.

"But we've worked through that and we ended up getting the win today so that's cool.

"I assume we're just going to take it easy (over coming days), just keep doing what we've been doing.

"Maybe a little training session, maybe a little run around but keep it pretty simple."

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