The Bowlers put Heat on Scorchers at Brisbane to see home team win

There was a danger for the Brisbane Heat that they were in for a repeat of last Sunday’s performance against Perth Scorchers. A good bowling performance today would see them get revenge as they won by six wickets.

When Elyse Villani won the toss and chose to bat on a green looking Allan Border Field it was followed by an initial burst of boundaries off bowling that was too short given the way the pitch looked.

The Scorchers opening pair of Nicole Bolton and Villani were keen to tuck into anything that was short or offered any width. It worked early on and the runs were flowing freely. That was until Bolton tried to hit Jess Jonassen over the mid-wicket boundary; Bolton had got the height but not the distance and Haidee Birkett didn’t have to move to take the catch.

It was the incentive for the Heat bowlers to start pitching the ball up and making scoring tough. The boundaries started to become harder to find, the ball was starting to find fielders. Villani a player who likes to get on top of the bowler was feeling the pressure. Deandra Dottin conceded only two runs in her first over.

It needed someone to break the shackles and Villani the captain took it upon herself to do that. Delissa Kimmince gave nothing away in her first over and it induced the mistake in Villani who played through her shot too early and the top edge fell into the hands of Sammy-Jo Johnson at gully. It was not only a maiden for Kimmince but a wicket maiden as well.

On Sunday it was here that the Heat that the intensity fell away. There was no mistake of that happening today. Natalie Sciver was their tormentor at the weekend but she was not to be today as Dottin bowled her the ball after being smashed for four.

With Sciver gone for four and, the runs not coming the Scorchers were starting to try high-risk shots in order to find gaps in the field and Heather Graham was given out lbw to Jemma Barsby.

At the halfway stage the Scorchers were 49 for 4. The turnaround in fortunes was complete when Holly Ferling was brought into the attack. On Sunday her only over went for 17; today her first ball to Lauren Ebsary was found by a diving Laura Wolvaardt at mid-off. It was a spectacular catch that saw the young South African take the ball to her left while still in the air.

It looked like the Scorchers were going to post a target below a hundred. Katherine Brunt and Matilda Carmichael put on 49 for the sixth wicket before Brunt was stumped by Beth Mooney and gave Kimmince her second wicket of the game. It helped the Scorchers up to 112 for 7 from their 20 overs.

The Scorchers knew that they would need to keep it tight in the field if they were to have any chance of winning this game. With the fiery Brunt opening the bowling they knew that anything was possible. In just her second over it looked like they were barging their way back.

Mooney was surprised by a short ball from Brunt and attempting to hook found the fielder Thamsyn Newton at deep-fine leg. Then just balls later Wolvaardt was bowled playing all around a full ball.

Kirby Short and Dottin found the going tough. They played watchfully as the bowling gave few chances away, and at the end of the powerplay, the Heat were 24 for 2. With the run-rate at the start of the innings under a run a ball it meant that the two batters just had to knock the ball around for the singles and twos and wait for the bad ball.

The captain Short and Dotting put on 78 for the third wicket; with momentum with the Heat and Dottin starting to find the boundary she tried one hit too many from the new bowler Newton’s second ball and Bolton took the catch.

With the run-rate in the Heat’s favour, it was a wonder why Kimmince tried to advance down the pitch and tried and hit over Sciver at mid-on; Sciver took an easy catch and Newton had her second wicket of the over.

It was a captains innings by short that saw Brisbane Heat to their first win in this years WBBL by six wickets in the penultimate over as her four brings up the win and her fifty.

Brisbane Heat v Perth Scorchers

Perth Scorchers 112 for 7 (Brunt 29, Kimmince 2 for 17)

Brisbane Heat 116 for 4 (Short 50*, Newton 2 for 15)