Brisbane Heat 197 for 5 (G Harris 54, Knott 32*, King 3-30) won Perth Scorchers 130 for 8 (Sciver-Brunt 36, Vol 4-19, Jonassen 2-25) for 67 runs
Having flown cross-country before playing on back-to-back days, a tireless Heat enjoyed a fast surface to record the highest score in a WBBL final. They then bowled and fielded with discipline in a superb defense to stun a crowd of 2226 fans.
The Heat will play the Adelaide Strikers in Saturday’s final at Adelaide Oval. They had to go a long way after a convincing 44-run win over the Sydney Thunder in the elimination final at the WACA just a day earlier.
“It’s always a great game when we play them. It’s going to be a great final,” Voll said with the Heat and Strikers having split their two games this season. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere and hopefully we can topple them once again.”
It was a disappointing end for the Scorchers, who sat at the top of the ladder before losing their final three games of the regular season. Their slump continued against the Heat with a tiring bowling and fielding effort proving costly.
“Definitely a tough one, too surprised for words. But the dust will settle and we can celebrate a really great season,” said Scorchers legspinner Alana King.
Harris vindicated captain Jess Jonassen’s decision to bat first in sunny conditions with a whirlwind in the powerplay. He had come out of a slump in form with 45 off 22 balls against Thunder and continued the momentum with a second-ball boundary after charging offspinner Amy Edgar.
Harris was equally devastating against pace and bowled the 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 Georgia Redmayne struggling to reverse the strike. The end of the powerplay did little to limit Harris, who continued her aerial assault, including her aerial assault, which thundered into the mammoth display below the ground’s famous light towers.
She fittingly reached her half-century with a boundary marking Piepa Cleary, who in frustration bowled a bouncer that flew well over Harris for a no ball.
The Scorchers resorted to all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was playing her final game of the season regardless of the result. She rose to the key of Harris trapping her weight in a decision that was upheld after a referee called for a review.
Without Harris, the Heat were bogged down in the middle overs with Sciver-Brunt bowling accurately across the length while King was a constant threat to take wickets.
The Heat were in danger of going down again in the second overs, as they were against the Thunder, but Laura Harris stepped up with back-to-back sixes off Sophie Devine in the 17th over.
Charli Knott, on her 21st birthday, then took over with 32 off 14 balls as the Heat had one foot in the final.
Devine didn’t get her favorite spot at the top next to Beth Mooney. Instead, Lauren Winfield-Hill kept the opener role and smashed a quick 15 runs before falling to the quick Nicola Hancock.
It wasn’t long before Devine reached the crease at No.4 along with Mooney as the pair briefly gave the Scorchers a glimmer of hope. But they fell in quick succession with the weight on Sciver-Brunt, who attempted a rally against the odds.
But when he fell to Jonassen on 36, it was only a matter of time before the Heat completed a memorable trip to Perth as they kept their bid for a third WBBL title alive.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth