Scorched! Heat thrash Perth to charge into WBBL Final

Brisbane Heat have charged into Saturday's Weber WBBL|09 final, flexing their strength with bat and ball to thrash the Perth Scorchers by 67 runs.

Grace Harris smashed a 33-ball 54 to lay the foundation for the Heat's 5-197, ensuring the Scorchers would have to pull off the highest chase in WBBL history to make Saturday's decider.

Then, Jess Jonassen (2-25) claimed the key wickets of Beth Mooney and Natalie Sciver-Brunt, and Georgia Voll claimed a career-best 4-19, as the Scorchers were restricted to 8-130.

The Heat will play their first WBBL final since 2019 when they meet the Strikers at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

Needing something special to reel in the Heat's hefty total, Lauren Winfield-Hill (15 off 9) hit three early boundaries but was caught out in the second over, and Chloe Piparo was removed an over later.

Mooney (18 from 16) has a reputation for pulling off challenging chases and the Scorchers' hopes took a significant hit when the Australian opener miscued a shot off Jonassen in the seventh over and was caught at long-off.

While Sophie Devine and Sciver-Brunt remained so did the Scorchers' chances, but when the former skied a catch to 'keeper Georgia Redmayne on 13, the job became tougher.

The decisive moment arrived in the 13th over when Sciver-Brunt was trapped lbw by Jonassen for a 27-ball 36, leaving the Scorchers 5-99 still needing 99 runs off 42 balls.

Voll finished with a career-best four-wicket haul as she rolled through the Perth middle-order, putting the icing on an emphatic win.

It capped an impressive two days for the Heat, who had knocked off Sydney Thunder in the Eliminator a day earlier.

They will fly to Adelaide early on Thursday morning to begin preparations for Saturday's final.

Earlier, Harris hit a 26-ball half-century to set the platform for her team's 5-197 – the largest total in a WBBL final.

Like the Thunder bowlers in Tuesday's Eliminator, the Scorchers attack struggled early, and Harris capitalised while opening partner Georgia Redmayne played a secondary role, as the hard-hitting right-hander saw the Heat to 0-40 at the end of the four-over Powerplay.

Harris struck 10 fours and a six as her fifty came in the seventh over, and she was threatening a repeat of the 136no she hit against the Scorchers at the start of the tournament before Sciver-Brunt intervened, trapping the opener lbw.

Harris called for a review but had to depart when it was umpire's call, ending a 69-run opening stand.

Redmayne never got going and was out lbw on 11 from 15 deliveries.

No other batter reached fifty but the Heat's aggressive middle-order did what was required, as Amelia Kerr (31 off 23), Laura Harris (24 off 11) and Charli Knott (32no from 14) steered Brisbane to a mammoth total.

Alana King (3-30 off four) was the best of the Scorchers attack but it was a tough evening in the field for the hosts, who also made a number of errors, including Amy Edgar dropping Kerr off her own bowling, while Piepa Cleary stepped over the rope after taking a catch when Mignon du Preez was on 20.

Devine went for 0-41 from her three overs, while Edgar (0-35 off three) and Chloe Ainsworth (0-25 off two) were also targeted by the Heat.

WBBL Finals

The Eliminator: Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Thunder by 44 runs

The Challenger: Brisbane Heat beat Perth Scorchers by 67 runs

The Final: Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat | Adelaide Oval | December 2 at 7.10pm AEDT (6.40pm ACDT)

Grab your tickets or tune in on the Seven Network, Fox Cricket, Kayo or ABC radio