Sydney Thunder 170 for 5 (Knight 59*, Litchfield 40, Jonassen 3-22) won Brisbane heat 151 (Knott 55, G Harris 41, Bates 4-25) by 19 runs
After being sent in to bat, Thunder were 13 for 0 in the third over when Laura Harris dropped Georgia Voll for 2. Voll would score 22, but more importantly she combined with Athapaththu for a quick run of 52. opening to give Thunder the perfect platform to launch from.
Athapaththu and Litchfield smashed seven boundaries each, and Knight accelerated later in the innings as the Heat pitchers struggled to contain the star-studded lineup.
Heat needed to get off to a fast start in their run chase, and starter Grace Harris took three lucky hits during her blistering hit. He was on 5 when he bowled a spinning delivery from Bates to the keeper. The appeal was rejected and Thunder decided not to review it, but replays showed it clearly went out of his glove. Harris then fell on 26 and 32, but was eventually out when she was caught deep off a Taneale Peschel full toss.
Knott hit six fours and a six to make her first WBBL half-century and give the Heat a chance, but her hopes of victory were dashed when she was bowled by Bates, who now has 12 wickets in four games in what has been an excellent beginning. the season for the 28-year-old.
“I don’t know if there is a real secret behind [my form]. “It’s nice to finally be able to contribute,” Bates said. fox cricket. “I had a pretty average season last year, so I reflected on that quite a bit. I changed some little things and they’re paying off, which is good.”
