Brisbane Heat comfortably beat Sydney Thunder in the elimination final. Quicks Courtney Sippel and Nicola Hancock effectively utilised a bouncy WACA surface as Brisbane Heat comfortably beat Sydney Thunder in the elimination final. Heat will play in the Challenger against Perth Scorchers on Wednesday at the WACA. “Perth are a quality side and they have got world-class players, we’re going to have to play well to beat them,” Kerr said. Thunder never seriously challenged in a disappointing ending to a bounce-back season after last season’s wooden spoon. Thunder captain Heather Knight said “It [surface] definitely bounced a lot…we didn’t quite made use of the conditions. Both teams had to endure a cross-country journey after tailing off in the regular season to miss finishing in the top two. Harris’ timing was exquisite, but she also showcased her trademark power by smashing offspinner Lauren Smith into the gigantic sightscreen near the rubble. With her half-century in sight, Harris on the next ball attempted another lusty blow but she mistimed to deep midwicket. Harris had dominated the opening stand with Georgia Redmayne. Harris smashed Smith over deep midwicket for six off her first ball then whacked Darlington. Thunder’s batting relied on Chamari Athapaththu, the newly-minted player of the tournament. But she struggled to find rhythm on a hard surface and was left rattled after a disastrous mix-up saw opener Tahlia Wilson run out in the eighth over. When Kerr had Phoebe Litchfield caught and bowled, Thunder slumped to 61 for 3 at the halfway point and they never recovered as Heat lived to fight another day.
