Brisbane Heat 197 for 5 (G Harris 54, Knott 32*, King 3-30) beat Perth Scorchers 130 for 8 (Sciver-Brunt 36, Voll 4-19, Jonassen 2-25) by 67 runs
Having flown cross-country before playing on consecutive days, an indefatigable Heat enjoyed a fast surface to record the highest score in a WBBL final. They then bowled and played with discipline in magnificent defense to wow a crowd of 2,226 fans.
The Heat will play Adelaide Strikers in Saturday’s final at Adelaide Oval. They had to go a long way after a convincing 44-run win over Sydney Thunder in the elimination final at the WACA just a day earlier.
“It’s always a great matchup when we play them. It’s going to be a great final,” Voll said after the Heat and Strikers split their two games this season. “It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere and hopefully we can take them down one more time.”
It was a disappointing end for the Scorchers, who were at the top of the standings before losing their final three games of the regular season. His poor streak continued against the Heat with an inconsistent bowling and fielding effort that proved costly.
“It’s definitely tough, I’m surprised at the words. But the dust will settle and we’ll be able to celebrate what has been a really great season,” Scorchers player Alana King said.
Harris vindicated captain Jess Jonassen’s decision to bat first in sunny conditions with a whirlwind in the powerplay. She had come out of a poor form with 45 off 22 balls against Thunder and continued the momentum with a second ball boundary after charging against Amy Edgar.
Harris was equally destructive against the pace and hit quick Chloe Ainsworth through the covers in the next over.
Harris scored 33 of the Heat’s 41 runs in the first four overs with opener Georgia Redmayne struggling to deliver the strike. The end of the powerplay did little to slow Harris, who continued his aerial assault, including a longer six that thundered on the gigantic viewing screen beneath the ground’s famous light towers.
Appropriately he reached his half-century with a boundary off seamer Piepa Cleary, who, in frustration, bowled a bouncer that flew well over Harris for a no-ball.
Scorchers turned to all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was playing his last game of the season regardless of the result. She stood up with the key wicket of Harris by catching lbw from her in a decision that was upheld after an umpire requested a review.
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Without Harris, Heat were pinned down in the middle with Sciver-Brunt bowling accurately throughout, while King was a constant threat to take wickets.
The Heat were in danger of falling again in the final overs, just like they did against the Thunder, but Laura Harris stepped up with a straight six off seamer Sophie Devine in the 17th over.
Charli Knott, on her 21st birthday, took charge with 32 off 14 balls as the Heat had one foot in the final.
Devine did not occupy her favorite position at the top alongside Beth Mooney. Instead, Lauren Winfield-Hill maintained her opener role and quickly scored 15 runs before falling to the quick Nicola Hancock.
It wasn’t long before Devine arrived in the No. 4 box alongside Mooney as the pair briefly provided a glimmer of hope for Scorchers. But they fell in quick succession with the charge on Sciver-Brunt, who tried to recover against all odds.
But when he fell lbw to Jonassen in 36, it was only a matter of time before Heat concluded a memorable trip to Perth as they kept their bid for a third WBBL title alive.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
