IT came down to the final ball, but Lisa Griffith and her Sydney Thunder team-mates were unable to make it six Women’s Big Bash League wins in succession on Saturday as they fell in a nail-biter to Perth Scorchers.
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Perth was the side which ended Thunder’s bid for glory last season, Griffith and her team-mates falling 27 runs short in the semi-final.
This season Thunder made an impressive start to its campaign, heading to Perth’s Lilac Hill for Saturday’s Twenty20 clash sitting first on the ladder with six wins from seven matches.
Thunder looked on track to make it win number seven, and exact some revenge on the Scorchers for last season’s semi-final defeat, when posting 5-179 in front of a strong crowd of 3,190.
To win the Scorchers needed a record run chase, but unfortunately for Griffith’s Thunder outfit, that’s exactly what the hosts did to notch up a six-wicket win.
Elyse Villani (66 not out) hit the winning runs with a ball to spare, while earlier Perth skipper Meg Lanning belted 76 off 40 deliveries.
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“We had to get going pretty quickly out there. It was a good batting wicket,” Lanning said.
“I found a good batting rhythm early on and thought I'd keep going with it.”
Griffith was not required to bat, but did manage to snare a wicket to finish with 1-30 off four overs. She removed Amy Jones (13 off nine), who skied a shot to Stafanie Taylor at mid-off.
Of the six Thunder bowlers used in the match, only Samantha Bates (0-22) was more economical than the Bathurst talent.
Griffith and her team-mates were looking to hit back on Sunday afternoon in the second leg of their double-header against Perth. Success in that match could see Thunder reclaim first place on the ladder.
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