All's well at the top as Sixers solve their opening conundrum

Sophia Dunkley has brushed off the sceptics in Weber WBBL|11, with this season's No.1 draft pick making a strong case that she may finally be the answer to the Sydney Sixers' years-old opening conundrum.

Eyebrows were raised at the WBBL Draft in June when the Sixers overlooked the world's top-ranked T20 bowler Sophie Ecclestone in favour of her England teammate, batter Dunkley. 

But the addition of the 27-year-old has helped the Sixers improve a facet of their game that has plagued them for seasons – a matter not helped by injury issues in recent years – to see them return to the finals for the first time since WBBL|08.

The only overseas player to score more runs in the WBBL|11 regular season was the Hurricanes' retention pick Danni Wyatt-Hodge, with Dunkley sitting fifth on the runs table with 313 at a strike rate of 123.71, behind her opening partner Ellyse Perry in fourth spot (383 at 141.85).

Through the formative years of the WBBL, Perry and Alyssa Healy were the competition's most formidable opening pair, a period where the Sixers were equally as dominant in winning two titles and finishing runners-up twice.

But as the league's depth and local players developed, and the style of T20 cricket evolved, other teams caught up.

After missing finals for the first time in WBBL|05 and then again in |06, the Sixers started looking at ways they could shake up their own line up.

In WBBL|07 in 2021, their approach involved moving Perry, who at that point had a career Big Bash average of 55 but with a lower strike rate of 105, down the order while enlisting India's then-teenage prodigy Shafali Verma to partner Healy.

Their pairing lasted just four matches however before Verma, struggling for runs in unfamiliar conditions, was moved into the middle-order and Perry re-joined Healy.  

In 2022, as Perry reinvented her T20 game following her axing from the Australian XI, she moved to No.3 with New Zealand great Suzie Bates replacing her at the top. It produced mixed results as Bates averaged 19.85 with a strike rate of 94.55 across her two seasons with the club.

Healy's injury problems in recent seasons then added to the Sixers' opening issues, as Perry moved back to the top of the order. 

In WBBL|09 when a freak dog bite injury kept Healy sidelined for the majority of the tournament, Maitlan Brown was trialled at the top, alongside Bates. But in a tournament where Perry averaged 46.5, Brown (38 runs at 7.6) and Bates (99 runs at 11) couldn't go with her.

Last season, with Healy batting foot and knee issues, Perry had five different opening partners – Healy, Amelia Kerr, Hollie Armitage, Elsa Hunter and Sarah Bryce – and while she scored 424 runs at 53, with an imposing strike rate of 137.21, her partners scored a combined 107 runs at a strike rate of 94.

Despite consistently having one of the strongest squads on paper year in, year out, missing finals for the fifth time in six years was the catalyst for general manager Rachael Haynes and new coach Matthew Mott to adopt a fresh approach and recruit an opener in 2025.

When the Sixers sprung their surprise at the draft and took Dunkley over Ecclestone, they explained the intention was to strengthen the top order, with two strong spinners already on hand in Ashleigh Gardner and Amelia Kerr.

What wasn't clear at that point was exactly how Dunkley would be used – as an opener, or at first drop behind Perry and Healy?

Then, with Healy ruled out of the season opener with a thumb injury, Dunkley opened and fired off 61no from 40 balls at the WACA Ground and the decision was made.

The Englishwoman stayed at the top and she and Perry have become the most prolific opening partnership of WBBL|11, averaging 56.87 for the first wicket, ahead of the next highest-scoring pairing of Lizelle Lee and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who are averaging 44.55 for the Hurricanes.

"We picked (Dunkley) for a reason," Sydney Sixers captain Ashleigh Gardner said last Sunday.

"That was part of our list which we felt like we were lacking in, having someone up the top who just absolutely takes the game on.

"'Dunks' is never going to muck around at the top, and I think just the way that they complement each other – 'Pez' is more of a purist, and then Dunks opens up different areas of the ground.

"We were super happy with getting her on board. She's a ripping human as well, she's someone that fits in so seamlessly in any group that she goes to, so I think that just makes that transition a little bit easier."

Perry and Dunkley's success helped the Sixers qualify in second position despite a lack of consistent runs down the order.

Healy, still playing through the considerable pain of her injured thumb, has hit 118 runs at an average of 14.75, while Gardner's contributions have been patchy in her first season as skipper with 117 runs at 14.62 including one half-century.

No other Sixer has scored more than 100 runs for the season.

With that in mind, the Scorchers' new-ball attack will know the importance of breaking through the Perry-Dunkley partnership early when they meet in the Challenger at North Sydney Oval on Thursday night.

"(Our bowling group) will have some pretty clear plans for her," Scorchers opener Katie Mack said of Perry when speaking at Perth Airport on Wednesday.

"North Sydney can be quite a hard ground to bowl on, so sometimes you have to take your medicine and if you're going at sixes and sevens, that's a win ... (it's about) just trying to not let them get away too early." 

Weber WBBL|11 finals

The Knockout: Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs

The Challenger: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers, North Sydney Oval (Thursday, December 11, 7.15pm AEDT)

The Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of the Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Saturday, December 13, 7.15pm AEDT)

*A reserve day on Sunday, December 14 is available for the Final