Your ultimate guide to Wednesday’s showdown between the Perth Scorchers and the Brisbane Heat at the WACA Ground
The WBBL|09 Challenger: All you need to know
How do the finals work and when are they?
Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder met in The Eliminator on Tuesday night at Perth's WACA Ground after finishing third and fourth on the table.
After winning that game, the Heat have advanced to The Challenger, where they will play the second-ranked Perth Scorchers on Wednesday evening, also at the WACA Ground.
The victor of that match then travels to Adelaide to play the top-ranked Strikers in the final on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval.
The Challenger: match facts
Who: Perth Scorchers v Brisbane Heat
What: The WBBL|09 Challenger
Where: The WACA Ground, Perth
When: Wednesday November 29. Coin toss at 3:55pm local (6.55pm AEDT), first ball at 4:40pm local (7.40pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports and ABC radio
Buy tickets: tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app
Officials: Troy Penman, David Taylor (standing), Claire Polosak (third), Sharad Patel (fourth)
The Squads
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (c), Chloe Ainsworth, Stella Campbell, Piepa Cleary, Maddy Darke, Amy Edgar, Alana King, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Taneale Peschel, Chloe Piparo, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill
Brisbane Heat: Jess Jonassen (c), Mignon Du Preez, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Laura Harris, Bess Heath, Mikayla Hinkley, Amelia Kerr, Charli Knott, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll
The Heat are unchanged following Tuesday's Eliminator and it is hard to see them messing with a winning formula.
But the Scorchers will again be without England star Amy Jones as she continues to manage a calf injury. She also missed last Friday's match against the Strikers and the Scorchers will again fill her spot with another England batter in Lauren Winfield-Hill.
This does mean a shift in the make-up of the XI given Winfield-Hill is an opener, meaning Sophie Devine – who has shared a league record nine century partnerships with opener Beth Mooney – will again come in down the order.
After a disastrous start against the Strikers that left the Scorchers 4-15, they will hope to fare far better this time around.
Possible Perth Scorchers XI: Lauren Winfield-Hill, Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine (c), Maddy Darke, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Chloe Piparo, Amy Edgar, Alana King, Lilly Mills, Chloe Ainsworth, Taneale Peschel
Possible Brisbane Heat XI: Grace Harris, Georgia Redmayne (wk), Amelia Kerr, Mignon du Preez, Charli Knott, Jessica Jonassen (c), Laura Harris, Bess Heath, Georgia Voll, Nicola Hancock, Courtney Sippel
What happens if it's washed out?
Thankfully there's no rain forecast for Perth on Wednesday but if there was a washout, the Scorchers would progress to The Final as the higher-ranked qualifier.
And what about a tie?
The game will go to a super over. The one over per side decider will be used if scores finish level, with an unlimited amount of subsequent super overs to be played if the ties keep coming, conditional on conditions and time restrictions.
If no super over (or further super overs) are possible, the team which finished higher on the table will be declared the winner.
Recent form
Most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result
Perth Scorchers: LLLWWWWLWWLWLW
Brisbane Heat: WWLLLWWLLWLWWWW
The Scorchers had a topsy-turvy start to the season, with two wins over the Hurricanes split by a heavy defeat to the Heat.
They got on a red-hot run of form through the middle of the season, but their recent form has been concerning as they go into The Challenger off three consecutive losses.
The Heat meanwhile won their first four games, and after 10 matches had a 7-3 record, but they lost their next three matches before fighting back to defeat the Thunder in their last round match.
But they will be feeling confident after winning their past two matches.
Head-to-head this season
Honours were split this season. The first time they met at North Sydney Oval, it was the Grace Harris specular that made headlines around the world and paved the way to a 50-run win.
Not even a broken bat could stop the Heat opener as she blasted an unbeaten 136 off 59 balls, beating the previous high score of 114 – scored by both Ashleigh Gardner and Smriti Mandhana – in the process.
She finished unbeaten on 136 as the Heat posted 7-229 – the second highest total in tournament history – with her innings featuring a record 11 sixes.
Then when Courtney Sippel (4-27) accounted for both the Australia star and Scorchers captain Sophie Devine (14 off 14), the chase appeared insurmountable for the Perth batting line-up.
Amy Jones hit 30 off 17 but the task was too large as the Scorchers finished their 20 overs on 8-179.
In the second game – this time at Allan Border Field – it was Sophie Devine who hit a century to guide the Scorchers to a 39-run win.
Devine (106 off 62) combined with opening partner Beth Mooney (50 from 42) in a 131-run opening stand as the Scorchers posted 3-192.
The Heat bumbled and fumbled in the field, with a selection of dropped catches, missed stumpings and run-out chances adding to their woes.
The Heat's chances of chasing the imposing total relied on a strong start with the bat but Grace Harris (6) failed to fire, falling lbw to 18-year-old quick Chloe Ainsworth in the second over.
Amelia Kerr (4) also fell cheaply, out to the bowling of her NZ compatriot Devine.
Georgia Redmayne (53 off 44) anchored the innings, but while the likes of Mignon du Pree (22 off 14), Charli Knott (18 from 12) and Georgia Voll (27 off 16) were aggressive, wickets fell all too regularly as the Heat were bowled out for 153 in 17.3 overs.
Leading run scorers
Perth Scorchers: Beth Mooney (539 runs at 53.9, SR 144.5), Sophie Devine (476 at 39.66, SR 140.82)
Brisbane Heat: Grace Harris (432 at 30.85, SR 172.11), Mignon du Preez (343 at 24.5, SR 127.5)
Leading wicket takers
Perth Scorchers: Amy Edgar (20 wickets at 14.35, eco 6.42), Alana King (16 wickets at 19.75, eco 6.53)
Brisbane Heat: Jess Jonassen (21 at 20.19, eco 8.25), Nicola Hancock (19 wickets at 21.36, eco 7.49)
Strengths and weaknesses
Perth Scorchers
The Scorchers have the mot successful opening partnership in the competition's history – only team balance means Sophie Devine won't be opening with Beth Mooney. The loss of Amy Jones, who has been replaced by experienced opener Lauren Winfield-Hill, means Devine will drop down the order.
Nonetheless, any batting line-up possessing Mooney, Devine, Winfield-Hill and Natalie Sciver-Brunt is one to be feared.
With the ball, Amy Edgar and Chloe Ainsworth have both been excellent this year, taking big wickets at critical moments, while Alana King has been quietly going about her business. They will need to be on their game against the Heat’s exceptionally deep batting order.
Brisbane Heat
The Heat, as just noted, have an incredibly deep batting line-up; starting at the top with Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne and carrying on from there with Amelia Kerr, Mignon du Preez, Bess Heath, Laura Harris, Charli Knott, Georgia Voll and Jess Jonassen. The top three has been stable since Kerr's late arrival to the tournament, but the Heat have switched up the rest of their order regularly, so how they best manage the talent at their disposal, to get the most out of it, will be critical.
With the ball, Jonassen and Nicola Hancock have again been standouts, but they will be looking for a big performance from the likes of Kerr and Courtney Sippel to advance to the final.
WBBL Finals
The Eliminator: Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Thunder by 44 runs
The Challenger: Perth Scorchers v Brisbane Heat | WACA Ground | November 29, 7.40pm AEDT (4.40pm AWST)
The Final: Adelaide Strikers v TBC | Adelaide Oval | December 2 at 7.10pm AEDT (6.40pm ACDT)
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