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Adelaide Strikers (Source: Twitter)
Adelaide Strikers continued their dominance in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) as they successfully retained their title. In a thrilling final at Adelaide Oval on Saturday 02 December, Strikers edged out Brisbane Heat by three runs to claim a record-equalling second WBBL title. They booked their berth in the finals after impressive wins in the league stage and managed to keep their cool in a tense final.
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Strikers got off to a decent start, opting to bat first, despite Katie Mack getting out cheaply early on. Skipper Tahlia McGrath and opener Laura Wolvaardt steadied the innings with a 60-plus partnership for the second wicket. McGrath's wicket in the 10th over turned the tide as Heat bowlers pulled things back in the second half. They restricted Strikers to a pretty average total of 125-5 in 20 overs.
In reply, Heat openers Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne started strongly but Strikers slowly pulled things back. Amanda-Jade Wellington, who won the Player of the Match, bowled some economical overs and built the pressure in addition to picking up three wickets. Captain McGrath's two wickets on successive deliveries also proved crucial in Strikers' comeback.
A vital fifth-wicket partnership of 34 runs between Amelia Kerr and Charli Knott gave Heat some hope, but Megan Schutt removed the latter at a crucial time. With the equation needing 13 off the last six balls, Wellington bowled a brilliant over to give her team an incredible win. Kerr tried her best (30 off 32 balls) but unfortunately, she was off the strike in the last over.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Strikers captain McGrath said: "I am going to use my quote from the last year - "that was bloody special." We had the fight and determination. We were sitting in the changerooms, we said we're not done, we want to go back-to-back. We know our roles, it's a lot of fun playing with this team. No ego. That was crazy from the crowd. Adelaide crowd is the best. We love your support. Every single time playing against Heat is a quality game, tonight was no different."