Chamari Athapaththu struck her fifth half-century of the summer, after Sammy-Jo Johnson reached 100 Women’s Big Bash wickets, as the Sydney Thunder downed the Perth Scorchers at a packed out Cricket Central.
After winning the bat flip and electing to bowl, Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney shared a 43-run opening stand before Lauren Smith removed the latter for 26, the first time the WBBL|09 leading run scorer has been out in four matches.
Johnson then took centre stage, bowling the dangerous Devine for her 100th wicket of the competition, the 10th player to reach that milestone.
Meanwhile, Sam Bates produced the most economical figures in Women’s Big Bash history, going for just six runs from her four overs, with one wicket thrown in for good measure, as the visitors could muster just 116 from their 20 overs.
In reply, Thunder lost Phoebe Litchfield early on before Athapaththu added an unbeaten 77 to an earlier brace of scalps, taking home yet another Player Of The Match award.
Skipper Heather Knight kept her company at the other end, scoring an unbeaten 32, taking her Women’s Big Bash tally beyond 2,000 runs in the process.
View the full scorecard here, or read the full report here.
The last game at Cricket Central takes place on Tuesday, before a trip to Adelaide to face Brisbane Heat on Friday and finishing up with the highly-anticipated Sydney Smash finishing the group stages next Sunday. Secure your tickets for those fixtures here.