Women’s Big Bash League 2019 final: Brisbane Heat beat Adelaide Strikers by six wickets

Brisbane Heat managed to successfully defend their WBBL title in the final played against Adelaide Strikers at a jam-packed Allan Border Field. The fans had expected an enthralling encounter between the two heavyweights but it rather turned out to be a one-sided affair on Sunday morning.

At the start, Heat won the toss and elected to field and their bowlers proved their skipper’s decision right by dismissing the Adelaide Strikers’ in-form allrounder Sophie Devine in the second over of the innings. The right-handed batter played a mistimed shot off Georgia Prestwidge and was caught by Maddy Green.

Beth Mooney’s half-century steers Brisbane Heat to their 2nd successive WBBL title

Brisbane Heat skipper Suzie Bates and Tahlia Mcgrath stitched a crucial partnership of 59 runs for the second wicket. However, Bates’ inning came down to a halt when she tried to play a stroke over the covers off Amelia Kerr but ended up glancing the ball towards backward point.

Amanda Wellington (55) ended up being the only player in Brisbane Heat to score a half-century in the final. She was the main reason behind the defending champions posting a competitive total of 161 runs.

Coming on to chase, Adelaide Strikers also didn’t get off to a strong start and lost their opener Maddy Green at a score of 27. After her dismissal, Sammy-Jo Johnson took the crease and she looked in full flow with the bat. Johnson smashed three consecutive sixes against Sophie Devine in her one over. She mustered 27 runs off 11 balls and her small cameo helped the Heat in getting a much-needed momentum.

In the latter part of the game, Mooney (56*) and Jess Jonassen (33) showed their experience without losing their nerves in WBBL 2019 final. The duo established a good partnership of 67-run for the third-wicket that kept the target under their radar. In the end, Laura Harris (19 off 11 balls) also gave a valuable contribution with the bat and helped Brisbane Heat in going past the target of 161 runs with 11 balls to spare.

For Adelaide Strikers Tahlia Mcgrath emerged as the best bowler in their bowling unit. She bowled a good spell of 2/24 in WBBL 2019 final. Moreover, Sophie Devine was named as the player of the tournament for scoring 769 runs and taking 19 wickets in her 16 outings.

Brief Scores

Brisbane Heat Women vs Adelaide Strikers Women, Match Final

Brisbane Heat: 7-161 in 20 overs (Amanda Wellington 55, Tahlia McGrath 33; Jess Jonassen 2-30, Georgia Prestwidge 2-24)

Adelaide Strikers: 4-162 in 18.1 overs (Beth Mooney 56*, Jess Jonassen 33; Tahlia McGrath 2-34)

Brisbane Heat Women won the WBBL 2019 final by 6 wickets

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