Perry helps Sixers to fifth straight win

It’s been a remarkable tale of two halves for the Sydney Sixers, who completed their wonderful weekend in Melbourne with victory over the Renegades to make it four wins from four in the inaugural Rebel Women’s Big Bash League.

The Sixers started the tournament with six back-to-back losses and found themselves firmly entrenched at the foot of the table. Now, however, they are chasing perhaps the greatest of great escapes in an outside bid for a semi-finals spot.

Ellyse Perry, the Sixers captain, has seen her own form improve dramatically. With bat in hand this is certainly the case; her unbeaten knock of 67 today was key once again to the Sixers' eight-wicket win over the Melbourne Renegades.

Perry’s first six scores of the tournament mustered just 113 runs at an average of 18.83. Her last five have produced 268 runs at an average of 89.33.

“I think for me in this format especially I’m still learning a lot with the bat,” said Perry.

“It was probably in our favour that we had those three weeks off over Christmas and everyone could go away and work on a few different things.

“Early on no-one was really that happy with the way they were playing. We had bits and pieces of good cricket but a lot of it probably wasn’t up to standard for us.

“I do really believe that that win [the Sixers’ first, over the Scorchers] just before we had a break was really important as well. It really lifted our spirits and I think we understood what we needed to do to win. I don’t think there was much to it – just freshening up.”

Perry’s batting throughout this weekend has been tall, elegant and ruthlessly clinical. Today the balls were flying off her bat like gunshots and her 89-run partnership with Sixers youngster Ashleigh Gardner really put the Melbourne side to the sword. Both Perry and Gardner hit maximums, with both coming in the 12th over of their innings. It was brutal viewing and the crowd, wildly partisan to begin, soon turned their attention to cheering good cricket once they realised the Renegades’ plight was futile.

The Renegades, opting to bat first on a deck that had offered 1,433 runs across five games so far this weekend, got off to an unassuming start. South African international Dane van Niekerk (38 from 41) in particular struggled to find a gap, facing out a maiden over from compatriot Marizanne Kapp and failing to get off the mark from her first 14 deliveries.

When she did however, through a combination of frustration and timing, it was in emphatic fashion – van Niekerk’s first runs coming from a belting six launched over long-on. Priest too found the going tough; dropped on five off Perry’s bowling, yesterday’s top-scorer was dismissed for 11 after a diving Lisa Sthalekar held on to a sharp chance at mid-wicket.

Key to the Sydney side’s strong start was Kapp (2-13). The South African has bowled consistently tight lines throughout the tournament but during the first half of the WBBL in particular often found her side defending low totals, with wickets predictably hard to come by. Figures of three for nine in the Sixers first win against the Scorchers was key to their success and today delivered a similar result.

After snaffling the dangerous Priest, Kapp trapped Sarah Elliott lbw for a golden duck. The two wickets came in the final two balls of Kapp’s third over and the right-arm quick had to wait until the sixteenth for her hat-trick ball. By then however, Molly Strano was in and repelled Kapp’s efforts.

Strano, who has made a name for herself through her flighty off-spin, showed once again that she’s got a few skills with bat in hand too. Although not the strongest of players, Strano employed deft timing and placement to work the ball around late in the Renegades’ innings, just as she had done against the Melbourne Stars just a week ago.

The day’s earlier fixture had seen New Zealand international Sophie Devine crunch an unbeaten 47 off 15 balls including 26 in the final over and at one point Strano looked on course for something similar, albeit in a different fashion.

Ramps, sweeps and reverse sweeps were all on show as Strano looked to up the run-rate in a manner similar to that of England international Sarah Taylor, who on Friday had used the pace and fast outfield of the Junction Oval to great effect against the Stars. Strano eventually ended unbeaten on 33 from 26 balls and the Renegades, after having been 2-52 at the halfway mark, ended strongly on 6-128.

With the Sixers cruising on 1-89 by the half-way mark however, the total soon looked far from substantial. So it soon proved, the capable hands of Ellyse Perry and Sara McGlashan in at the end to guide the Sixers over the line.

The WBBL ladder is now in all sorts of funny shapes; the Sixers have launched themselves into sixth spot, tied for wins with fifth-placed Perth Scorchers but with a game in hand, and just one win behind the Melbourne Stars, who have also played eleven. Finals now look a far closer prospect for the Sixers than they did just three days ago.

“I think there was an America’s Cup race that was probably more of an escape than us,” quipped Perry when talk of finals contention surfaced. “But look, I think that’s probably a little bit too far ahead for us at the moment.

“Obviously there is a lot of clarity of what we need to do in terms of just winning the remaining games, which I think is really good for us as there is only one thing to think about in that sense.

“But having said that, I think it is probably too far ahead to think about the finals because we have still got three games to play.”

The Renegades meanwhile now lie at the foot of the table. Their first foray into WBBL cricket has brought some memorable upsets and their record in front of the cameras is unblemished. However for the women in red, while finals are still a mathematical possibility, it looks as though their journey ends here. Shame, because it’s been fun.

Sixers: Ellyse Perry (c), Alyssa Healy (wk), Sara McGlashan, Marizanne Kapp, Sarah Aley, Angela Reakes, Kara Sutherland, Emily Leys, Lauren Smith, Lisa Sthalekar, Ashleigh Gardner

Renegades: Rachel Priest (wk), Dane van Niekerk, Sarah Elliott (c), Kris Britt, Sophie Molineux, Molly Strano, Jenny Taffs, Nicola Hancock, Cassie Brock, Briana Binch, Kirsty Lamb