Sixers allrounder Dane van Niekerk feels her team can topple the Scorchers in the WBBL final despite a fitness cloud hanging over key players
Sixers confident even without Perry
South Africa star Dane van Niekerk believes her team’s ability to play as a collective group will hold them in good stead ahead of Saturday’s showdown with the Perth Scorchers in the Rebel Women’s Big Bash Final at the WACA Ground.
The Sixers were dealt a cruel blow ahead of the semi-final with inspirational skipper Ellyse Perry ruled out due to a hamstring injury, while New Zealand import Sara McGlashan aggravated an ongoing knee concern during Wednesday’s knock-out game at the Gabba.
But the loss of Perry seemed to only galvanise the Sixers, who thrashed the Hobart Hurricanes by 103 runs – the biggest winning margin in WBBL history – to book a berth in the final.
Stand-in skipper Alyssa Healy admitted in the post-match interview that Perry is unlikely to be play in the final, but she hopes McGlashan will come up after hurting her knee during her innings of 38 from 32 balls.
“I'm pretty sure Pez is out for the final” Healy, who blasted 77 from 45 balls in a match-winning performance, told Channel 10.
“Macca (McGlashan) I'm not sure about – she seems to be walking around all right so with a couple of days off the physio can work her magic and get her out on to the park.”
While other teams in WBBL|02 have struggled to overcome injuries, van Niekerk feels the depth of the Sixers’ squad means other players in the team can handle the extra responsibility, as shown in their semi-final victory.
“I think our team has shown how good we are allround,” van Niekerk told cricket.com.au.
“Look Pez is an amazing player and we dearly miss her and we know what impact she can have in any game but we have individuals that can pick up their hand.
“Like Midge (Healy) did today and all the bowlers with Kappie (Marizanne Kapp) and Macca (McGlashan) with the bat as well.
Van Niekerk and her fellow South African import Kapp both returned to the Sixers side on Wednesday after missing the last four games due to international duties, and she admitted the travel had made her a bit weary.
“I'm stuck with a bit of a flu but this is all part of being a professional cricketer now.”
Van Niekerk won’t have much time to recover with the Sixers now having to travel across Australia to take on the Scorchers at the WACA in two days’ time.
“They (Scorchers) are a brilliant side we know what were up against.
“The thing we did so well before the semi-final was that we concentrated on us and not on the opposition too much. That’s what we want to do going into the final.”