Adelaide Strikers 106 for 5 (Penna 31, Devine 3-20) beat Perth Scorchers 104 (Brown 3-18, Wellington 2-17, Gibson 2-17) by five wickets

Defending champions Adelaide Strikers secured first place in the WBBL regular season and hosting rights to next Saturday’s final, to be held at Adelaide Oval, with a comprehensive five-wicket victory over Perth Scorchers.

The top four are all but set with Strikes (18 points), Scorchers (16), Brisbane Heat (16) and Sydney Thunder (15) the likely finalists.

Heat and Scorchers have completed their group matches. Only a massive win and the associated rise in the fifth-placed Hobart Hurricanes’ run rate (13 points) over the rampant Strikers on Sunday can displace the Thunder, who face the Sydney Sixers on the same day at the SCG.

The strikers flexed their collective muscles on Friday night at Adelaide Oval against the Scorchers who set the pace earlier. The visitors fell to 15 for 4 in five overs and were bowled out for 104 in 19.4 overs, with Strikers winning off 31 balls after a brief wobble.

After the initial collapse, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Devine steadied themselves with a 47-run stand for the fifth wicket, but they were only batsmen to reach double figures. Sciver-Brunt’s dismissal for 32 led to another fall of 6 for 42, including the wicket of Devine.

In their run chase, the Strikers batsmen advanced to 50 for 1 in the seventh over but then stumbled, losing 4 for 18 and Devine claimed two wickets in three balls to leave the home team 68 for 5.