LISA Griffith held her nerve under pressure to help the Sydney Sixers to a thrilling win over the Melbourne Stars on Sunday, but the victory was not enough to seal them a spot in the Women's Big Bash League finals.
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Griffith arrived at the crease with seven balls remaining and the Sixers still needing 11 runs for victory over the Stars at North Sydney Oval.
At that stage the Bathurst talent knew her side would not qualify for the finals of the Twenty20 competition. To do that they had needed to pull off impossible and chase down the Stars' total of 178 in 6.1 overs.
But the Sixers were still hungry to finish their campaign on a high as as Griffith finished with five off the three deliveries she faced - including some luck as she edged a yorker past fine leg for a boundary - it helped her side get over the line.
The win left them in fifth place, their nett run rate not good enough to replace the Perth Scorchers in the top four.
The Sixers had gone into the final weekend of the regular season still in contention for one the three remaining spots in the top four.
A six-wicket loss to to Melbourne Renegades on Saturday hurt their bid and while the Adelaide Strikers' victory over Perth on Sunday gave the Sixers some hope, they needed a huge win over minor premiers the Stars to advance.
That did not happen, but Griffith still got to watch a special innings from team-mate Alyssa Healy who blasted 111 off 52 deliveries.
While Healy was pleased to finish on a high, she lamented the Sixers' inability to capitalise on a strong start to their campaign.
They had at one stage led the league before five consecutive defeats saw them drop out of the top four.
"I think it just shows how consistent you need to be in this WBBL to be at the top of the table," Healy said.
"The teams are so well-matched, there is no easy games out there. It's getting harder and harder every year - if you're not consistent, you're not going to be at the top of that leaderboard.
"We left our run a little bit too late, but at least we finished on a high note, we can go and have a few beers and know that we gave it a real good crack."
Griffith's brief stint at the crease on Sunday was one of five times she batted this season, all of them coming late in Sixers' innings. She scored a total of 25 runs off 20 deliveries.
She bowled just three overs across the tournament, her best coming in her debut for the Sixers when snaring 2-10 against the Adelaide Strikers.