Adelaide Strikers land back-to-back WBBL titles after riveting heist
AN all-round performance from skipper Tahlia McGrath led a collective Adelaide Strikers performance as they successfully defended their WBBL title with a thrilling three-run win over Brisbane Heat in the final at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday last (December 2).
Chasing an under-par total of 126, Brisbane Heat needed 13 off the last over bowled by Amanda-Jade Wellington who held her nerve to see her side over the line. The well-set Amelia Kerr got off-strike on the second ball of the over and then had to watch helplessly as she never got back the strike again.

Opting to bat, the defending champions lost the in-form Katie Mack early but a 66-run stand between McGrath and the seasoned Laura Wolvaardt raised hopes of a total in excess of 150, if not 160. The Strikers captain in particular looked in good touch barring the odd nervy moment but once the two set batters departed, the innings went downhill for the Strikers.
The surface appeared to be decent to bat on but the variable bounce and turn on offer meant that the bowlers were always in the game. Heat came back strongly to put the squeeze on and regular wickets helped their cause as the Strikers endured a horrendous final ten overs.
Nicola Hancock continued her good form in the season with a three-fer including the big wickets of Mack and McGrath. Jess Jonassen also produced a tidy spell with the crucial breakthrough of Wolvaardt.

With a low score to chase, Grace Harris started on a positive note as Heat scored 25 off the first three overs. However, the Strikers didn’t lose their composure and quietly went about putting a lid on the scoring rate. The result was the big wicket of Harris, with Georgia Redmayne also falling shortly after to kick the game alive. The runs started to dry up as Strikers’ spinners stifled the batters.
To win defending a low score in a final required one defining moment and McGrath provided that with her second over. A well-disguised slower ball cleaned up du Preez and then a very full ball got the dangerous Laura Harris for a golden duck. It was the kind of situation the Strikers needed heading into the back end of the innings with the kind of score they had to defend. But Charlie Knott defied them with a 14-ball 20 that put the chase back on track with the power surge yet to be taken. The game ebbed and flowed until the wily Megan Schutt removed Knott and Jonassen off her successive overs to push Heat to the edge.

Kerr was starved of the strike in the last three overs and while she tried her best with the odd boundary, her partners lost the plot against a relentless Strikers attack that fed off the roaring home crowd at the Adelaide Oval. The defending champions weren’t flawless on the field and a few missed catches/run outs did occur but what they did well was to ace the crunch moments as they landed successive WBBL titles. (Cricbuzz)