We were 15 runs short, didn’t bowl as planned, admits Sixers coach Ben Sawyer

Sydney Sixers head coach Ben Sawyer admitted that they were 15 runs short and didn’t bowl according to the plan against Hobart Hurricanes in the ongoing Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) on Saturday (November 14).



“I think we were 15 short with the bat and then our bowling, we hung it really wide. We spoke about attacking stumps and I don’t think we did that today,” Sawyer told reporters at a virtual press conference on Saturday.



“Against the Perth Scorchers, Sophie Devine had an amazing innings, and then in the second (leg), I thought it was pretty close. Today, I think we were off on both sides of the game,” he said about their run in the last few games. Batting first Sixers put on 139/4, thanks to an unbeaten 72 from 68 balls from skipper Ellyse Perry.



With Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner both falling for single digits, it was Perry who kept the scoreboard ticking to post a competitive total. Erin Burns and Dane van Niekerk contributed towards the end. In reply, a 63-ball 92 not out from Hurricanes opener Rachel Priest took the game away completely from Sixers.



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“Honestly, I believe, we just didn’t attack the stumps. We chatted this the other day. And the coming out today and bowling the same, and especially to someone like Rachael Priest, probably scored majority of the runs,” added Sawyer, who had earlier worked with Australian women’s side as an assistant coach.



Sixers are at the fourth position with 10 points from nine games and have five games left in the next seven days. Asked how they go about in the business with less recovery time, Sawyer said they can’t hang for too long.



“After today, we will definitely have a chat and discuss obviously what didn’t work and try to address them. With a quick turnaround, a 9.30 am start tomorrow (November 15) morning, you have got to park it pretty quickly; you can’t hang on for too long and move forward,” he said.



Perry, who already notched up three 50-plus scores in the tournament including the one on Saturday, started on a steady note before accelerating the scoring pace. However, after reaching 40, she slowed down a bit till the end.



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“She actually spoke to me at the break, to be honest. She thought the wicket slowed down a little bit,” Sawyer said about his chat with Perry. “And again I think if we had attacked the stumps, bowled straight; they might have found it to score difficult as well. I don’t think we executed as well as they did. She found it wasn’t the easiest of the wickets to bat when the ball got soft.”



Speaking about the injury updates of pacers Hayley Silver-Holmes and Lisa Griffith, sawyer said, “Hopefully Hayley is back next week, we would get a couple of players back in the week. That would be good for us. We might have to think giving a bit of rest to some because in those five days it’s tough for some of the young quicks to back up,” he concluded.