Phoebe Litchfield is still new to the role but she produced a brilliant captain’s knock to help the Thunder eliminate the Hurricanes from the WBBL finals as the hosts reeled in their target with six balls to spare.
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The Thunder looked to be struggling in their pursuit of Hobart’s 6/126 on another tricky wicket at Drummoyne Oval, but Litchfield went ballistic in the final few overs to seal a spot in Friday’s grand final qualifier against the Heat.
The hosts needed 26 off the final 18 balls and did all their damage in the 18th over with three boundaries before Litchfield whacked a crucial six off Nicola Carey.
The Hurricanes had their chance to remove the young gun who should have been stumped by Lizelle Lee when she was on 23, with Carey eventually knocking her over for 46 off 36.
But the damage had already been done, with Georgia Adams hitting the winning runs one ball later as the Thunder snuck home to keep their season alive after a disappointing final few games saw them squander top spot.
CAPTAIN’S KNOCK
Elyse Villani has produced plenty of important knocks over the years, and the Hurricanes skipper delivered again when it mattered most with her highest score of the season helping the visitors reach a defendable target.
The former international star whacked an unbeaten 49 off 42 to rescue the Hurricanes who were 4/47 after Heather Graham departed on the final ball before the mid-innings break.
But 17 runs off the first power surge over gave the innings the impetus it needed, with Villani raising the bat in the penultimate over, only for the official scorecard to show she finished one run short of a half-century.
She was well supported by Molly Strano who took 1-8 from her four overs, but they paid the price for being 15 runs short with the bat.
RUTH’S RUDE SHOCK
Shabnim Ismail has knocked over plenty of openers in her illustrious career, but the veteran quick hasn’t taken many wickets quite like the one we saw to open the finals.
Hurricanes opener Ruth Johnston attempted to pull a short delivery but only managed a top edge, with the ball landing on the crease and then spinning backwards onto the stumps as she looked around to see where it went.
It was an incredible start to the innings which saw Hobart’s top three batters all bowled on a tough Drummoyne Oval deck, with big-hitting Lizelle Lee unable to add to her two centuries this season after she was knocked over for 23.
Chamari Athapaththu (2-24) was terrific with the ball for the Thunder, and she backed it up with the bat with a handy 31 to get the innings off to a strong start.
