Match Recap: Sixers defeat Heat

Match in a Tweet: Sixers romp! The bowlers, led by Gardner and Aley derail the Heat before Perry guides them home.

The score: Brisbane Heat 9-83 (Barsby 26, Gardner 2-7) lost to Sydney Sixers 2-86 (Perry 45no) by eight wickets.

The hero: Given the responsibility of opening the bowling Ashleigh Gardner was simply outstanding. Assisted by the slowness of the pitch the off-spinner pitched the ball on a fuller length enticing the batters to drive. The plan proved to be successful as she dismissed Australia batter Beth Mooney of her fifth ball, trying to clear the infield and then had India star Smriti Mandhana caught at short-cover. Gardner finished with impressive figures of 2-7 from her three overs. The 19-year-old also scored 15 with the bat, in a low-scoring a match it was valuable contribution.

The support Cast: Small targets can be tricky but not when you have Ellyse Perry at the top. The Sixers skipper dropped anchor and looked assured throughout her unbeaten innings of 45 from 43 balls to guide the Sixers home.  Perry also managed to feature on the wickets list taking 1-11 from her four overs.

The Moment: Having blazed the Heat to a remarkable win on Sunday, Deandra Dottin was always going to be prized scalp for the Sixers. The West Indian was just started to break free when she struck Sarah Aley over the long-off fence in the ninth over to move into double digits. But Aley kept her cool, stuck to a similar line, pushed the fielder back to long-on and fortunately for her, Dottin obliged by hitting the ball straight down her throat.

Consolation Effort: Coming in at 5-31 in the ninth over, Jemma Barsby's valiant knock of 26 from 31 at least provided the bowlers some hope of defending 83. The left-hander nudged the ball around fielding in the initial stages before pulling out all the innovative strokes at the end. The highlight of Barsby's innings was a reverse swept maximum of off-spinner Lauren Smith. Barsby also managed to nab a wicket with the ball and the ambidextrous Queenslander had the commentators talking when she switched from bowling right-handed to using her left arm in the final over.

The runout: We are accustomed to Alyssa Healy featuring on the highlights reel but her no-look run out is worth watching again and again.  The Sixers' wicketkeeper caught an errant throw from the outfield over her head and back flipped it on to the stumps, finding Holly Ferling short of her crease.

Next stop: The Heat now head to the west to take on the Scorchers while the Sixers face the Stars in Melbourne.