Captain Litchfield rides luck to end Hurricanes' season

Phoebe Litchfield has led from the front to keep Sydney Thunder alive in the Weber WBBL|10 finals, steering her side to a six-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes in the Knockout.

Litchfield, who was given a life on 23 when Hurricanes 'keeper Lizelle Lee missed a stumping opportunity, made the Hurricanes pay dearly, striking 46 from 36 deliveries as the Thunder reeled a target of 127 in 19 overs.

On an evening where only the skippers looked at home in the middle, Elyse Villani's unbeaten 49 off 42 had helped Hobart to 6-126 in difficult batting conditions, giving the Hurricanes some hope of their first ever WBBL finals win.

When Lee missed the chance to remove Litchfield off the spin of Molly Strano in the 15th over, the Thunder still needed 42 off 31 and the Hurricanes were building pressure.

But a big Power Surge over from the Thunder skipper and batting partner Anika Learoyd (23no from 24) in the 18th over, where they took Heather Graham for 14 runs including three boundaries, left them needing just 10 from the final 12 balls.

Litchfield's first six of the match put the result beyond doubt, and while she was dismissed with her team still two runs shy of victory, Georgia Adams found the boundary first ball to ice the game.

The Thunder will now fly to Brisbane, where they will meet the Heat in the Challenger at Allan Border Field on Friday night.

The winner of that game advances to Sunday's final against the Renegades at the MCG.

The Thunder had been bowled out for 121 and 97 at the same venue during the regular season – offering hope to the Hurricanes despite their low total – and the hosts were immediately on the back foot when in-form opener Georgia Voll was caught off the second ball of their chase.

The Hurricanes were able to make regular breakthroughs to keep the pressure on the Thunder, with Heather Graham removing Tahlia Wilson for 14 after she was promoted to first drop, and leg-spinner Amy Smith intervening to dismiss Chamari Athapaththu (31) just as she was looking ominous.

But the Thunder's experience on the Drummoyne surface shone through in Litchfield's patient innings.

Earlier, Hobart had made a change at the top of the order as they elected to set a target, calling in Ruth Johnston for her first game of the season to join opener Lizelle Lee, and shuffling Villani back to the middle-order.

Johnson's stay in the middle lasted just six deliveries before she was bowled in bizarre fashion, skying a delivery from quick Shabnim Ismail and losing sight of the ball as she started running down the pitch.

By the time she turned back around, it was to see the ball land directly in front of the stumps and roll into them.

When Athapaththu (2-24) picked up the key wickets of Nicola Carey (1) and Heather Graham (10) with her off-spin, and Taneale Peschel (2-24) had Lee bowled for a 26-ball 23, the Hurricanes were in a spot of bother.

Well off the pace at 4-47 midway through their innings, Villani pulled out a captain's knock of her own to give her side hope on a difficult batting deck.

Her shift back to No.4 paid off for the club as she smacked five fours and hooked Ismail for six.

With handy contributions from Suzie Bates (16) and Kathryn Bryce (10), the Hurricanes scored 49 runs from the final five overs to set the Thunder 127 for a spot in the Challenger.

Sam Bates continued her outstanding season with a four-over miserly spell of 0-14.

WBBL|10 Finals

The Knockout: Sydney Thunder beat Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets with six balls remaining

The Challenger: Brisbane Heat v TBC | Allan Border Field | Friday, November 29 at 7.15pm AEDT, 6.15pm AEDT

The Final: Melbourne Renegades v TBC | MCG | Sunday, December 1 at 1.20pm AEDT

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