Adelaide Strikers 4 for 144 (Wolvaardt 75*, Darlington 2-36) beat Sydney Thunder 118 (Beaumont 37, Schutt 6-19) by 26 runs
None of it was possible without Wolvaardt’s one-woman show with the bat. She batted through the innings after Strikers were sent in making 75 not out from 56 balls as Strikers posted 4 for 144. She struck 12 boundaries in an exceptional display. Deandra Dottin and Madeline Penna were the only other batters to reach double figures but both struck at unusually low strike-rates.
Strikers will now face the winner of the Eliminator between Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes. The Eliminator will be played at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide on Wednesday night with the winner to face Strikers at the same venue on Thursday night. The winner of the Challenger will play Sydney Sixers at North Sydney Oval in Saturday’s final.
Sydney Sixers 2 for 157 (Perry 56*, Gardner 45*) beat Hobart Hurricanes 156 (du Preez 38, Peterson 3-31) by 8 wickets
Perry made 56 not out off 39 balls to help guide her side through the chase after earlier claiming 2 for 16 with the ball including 12 dot balls in her four overs to help restrict Hurricanes to just 156. Sixers had already qualified top to host the final and Hurricanes had already confirmed a place in the finals after Perth Scorchers lost earlier on Sunday. They had the chance to clinch second spot on the table and avoid the third versus fourth Eliminator with a win.
Perry and Gardner struck 11 fours and two sixes between them as Hurricanes struggled to contain their mix of power and finesse. They had come together after Alyssa Healy and Suzie Bates had given Sixers a solid start but they still required more than eight runs an over in the final 10 overs of the chase.
Hurricanes will now travel to Adelaide to play the cut-throat Eliminator against Heat on Wednesday night.
Melbourne Stars 1 for 49 (Winfield-Hill 22*) against Brisbane Heat 5 for 104 (Wyatt 52, Moloney 1-12) – No result
Stars were 1 for 49 after just 3.5 overs chasing 105 in a game that had been reduced to 10-overs-a-side thanks to the earlier rain that had affected the Melbourne Renegades Perth Scorchers match in the double-header.
Lauren Winfield-Hill and Sophie Reid made a blistering start smashing four fours and a six between them as the run-rate neared 13 runs per over in the reduced powerplay. But the moment Reid fell to Amelia Kerr the rain settled in and ended the match leaving the two teams to share one point each.
Stars finished in sixth spot on the WBBL table with five wins and three no results. Heat slipped to third and will have to win three straight games away from home to win the title.
Melbourne Renegades 4 for 58 (Kershaw 34*, Mills 3-9) beat Perth Scorchers 2 for 46 (Devine 24*, Ismail 1-12) by 6 wickets (DLS method)
Kershaw smacked 34 not out off just 18 balls to help Renegades chase down a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern adjusted target of 57 with six wickets in hand and three balls to spare after they had slumped to 4 for 15 in the fourth over. The loss means Scorchers will finish fifth on the table and miss the finals just a year after claiming the title with a very similar squad.
But Kershaw played a fearless knock pounding five fours and two sixes. She relentlessly attacked the spinners over midwicket and carved the seamers square through the off side to muscle her way to the target. Carly Leeson provided steady support at the other end in a 44-run unbeaten stand.
Earlier, Scorchers’ innings was cut short by rain after the match had initially been reduced to a 16-overs-a-side game due to a wet outfield. Scorchers were cruising at 2 for 46 with Sophie Devine and Marizanne Kapp just starting to roll following the early losses of Beth Mooney and Maddy Green. Mooney had fallen for a first-ball duck to Ella Hayward while Shabnim Ismail castled Green in the fourth over. But rain intervened before Scorchers had a chance to accelerate and ended the innings leaving them to defend an adjusted target of 57.
Renegades finished seventh, with four wins from 14 games.