Healy ton sets up Sixers win after Devine threatens to steal the show

An Alyssa Healy hundred helped the Sydney Sixers to a comfortable win over the Adelaide Strikers as the final standings started to take shape. It will be a game that the Adelaide Strikers will wonder how they lost as Sophie Devine and Tahlia McGrath took the attack to the Sixers.

In the end, the Sydney Sixers won comfortably to register a seven-wicket win with four balls to spare.

There is no doubting that Devine is one of the most destructive batters in the women’s game and when she gets going there is no one finer to watch. Today was one of those days as she scored her first fifty of the WBBL season. She was hitting sixes at will and her total of 70 from 45 balls included 5 fours and 5 sixes.

It took a good catch from Ellyse Perry on the long off boundary to dismiss the New Zealander.

Only McGrath was able to keep up with Devine with the bat and finished on 44 not out from 35 balls as the Strikers faltered towards the end of the innings as they looked to on for a score of around 200 at one point.

Tammy Beaumont was lbw sweeping Kim Garth. Sarah Coyte who was playing her first WBBL game of the season took two wickets that saw the Strikers finally finish on 149 for 5.

Healy was determined that today would be the day that she finally managed to post an innings that some of the clean hitting throughout the tournament has promised.

The Strikers were on 34 for 0 with one ball left of the powerplay when Perry played all around an inswinger from Megan Schutt to depart for 10.

Ashleigh Gardner was run out ten balls later. It might have made another batter put away some of the more attacking shots, but that is not Healy’s style and she carried on regardless.

Healy raced to fifty from 34 balls as she kept evading the fielders as she took the aerial route. Her second fifty came from 26 balls as she put the Sixers in an excellent position to win the game.

It was Amada-Jade Wellington that would see an end to the Healy innings as she looked to sweep and was stumped.

Healy’s innings of 106 lasted just 66 balls and contained 13 fours and 3 sixes.

The Sixers now only needed nine runs to win and Erin Burns and Sara McGlashan saw them home with four balls to spare.

It was an important win for the Sixers who would move above Sydney Thunder on net run-rate if they won and their city rivals lost.

It leaves the Strikers looking over their shoulder as the Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat could still catch them.

Sydney Sixers v Adelaide Strikers

Adelaide Strikers 149 for 5 (Devine 70, Coyte 2 for 14)

Sydney Sixers 150 for 3 (Healy 106, Schutt 1 for 26)