Sydney: Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 80 and Alana King’s four-wicket haul kept Perth Scorchers’ perfect start to the Women’s Big Bash League intact, as the competition leaders beat Sydney Thunder by 17 runs at Drummoyne Oval on Thursday.
Mooney anchored the Scorchers’ 183 for 3 with an unbeaten 80 from 55 balls, her 49th half-century in WBBL cricket — a competition record. Former captain Sophie Devine made 42 from 39 before retiring herself out in a team-first move that opened the door for a late assault, and Freya Kemp smashed 30 from just 10 balls as Perth plundered 47 runs from the final three overs.
Thunder, who won the toss and chose to bowl, had kept the Scorchers in check for much of the innings. But Devine’s selfless exit changed the shape of the finish, and Kemp’s hitting — at a strike rate of 300 — lifted Perth to a total that proved just beyond the hosts.
Thunder’s chase started badly and never fully recovered. Chloe Ainsworth struck with the first ball of the innings, bowling Georgia Voll, and then removed the dangerous Phoebe Litchfield for 34. England’s Heather Knight made 27 before being stumped by Mooney off Devine’s bowling, and at that point the match looked gone.
Laura Harris (29) and Tahlia Wilson (25) gave the hosts a sniff, blasting 35 runs from the two-over power surge, but the reintroduction of champion leg-spinner King ended the resistance. King finished with 4 for 35, dismantling the lower order as Thunder were bowled out for 166 in 19 overs. Ainsworth finished with 2 for 24 and Devine 2 for 31.
The win keeps Perth clear at the top of the WBBL table with three wins from three games, holding an extra game in hand over the Sydney Sixers. It also inflicted Thunder’s first defeat of the season, after they had won their opening two matches.
For Thunder, the defeat was a reminder of how quickly a chase can unravel. After the power surge had brought the target within reach, King’s reintroduction changed the game in the space of a few overs, and the lower order had no answer to her control and variation. Thunder had won their first two matches of the season, and the loss leaves them third on the table behind the unbeaten Scorchers and the Sixers.
Mooney was named Player of the Match for her unbeaten 80. Perth next face Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, while Thunder meet cross-town rivals Sydney Sixers in the derby at the same venue.
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