Poor running between the wickets from the SA Scorpions' top order has handed the Lend Lease Breakers a 77-run victory in their women's Twenty20 match in Adelaide.
The Scorpions' top four batters were all run out on Friday as NSW's fine fielding ensured the home side slumped to 4-24 after five overs while chasing 129 for victory, before the Breakers ended SA's innings on 51 with 15 deliveries to go.
Rhianna Peate, Kylie Rattray, Lauren Ebsary and Bridget Patterson were all run out, while NSW's Sarah Coyte took 3-7 off three overs as the Breakers extended their unbeaten streak this season to nine matches.
Wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy led the way with the bat for NSW, scoring 56 off 50 deliveries as the Breakers compiled 6-128 from their 20 overs.
Healy opened the batting with Leah Poulton (eight) and while the latter was dismissed cheaply, the NSW wicketkeeper combined with captain Alex Blackwell (14) and Angela Reakes (15) to lead the visitors to a competitive total.
The Scorpions' run chase started to go downhill on the first ball of the third over when Rattray took off, hesitated and was run out for two.
Ebsary (four) was run out on the last ball of the same over before SA lost two more wickets to run-outs in the fifth.
Patterson drove straight to cover and inexplicably attempted a single, which saw Peate fail to make her ground.
And just two balls later Patterson was back in the pavilion thanks to a direct hit from Claire Koski.
Some accurate bowling from Coyte saw the Scorpions lose another three wickets by the end of the eighth over as they effectively quashed the South Australians' chances of overhauling NSW's total.
Scorpions No.9 Amanda Wellington top-scored for the home team, adding 12 runs and leading them into the 18th over before she was caught off the bowling of Nicola Carey to bring SA's innings to a close.
First Posted 21 December, 2012 6:54PM AEST
