Marizanne Kapp, a South African allrounder, excelled with bat and ball in the WBBL Final, helping the Perth Scorchers beat the Adelaide Strikers by 12 runs. The Strikers were held to 2-16 in the six-over powerplay in response to the Scorchers’ 5-146, eventually finishing at 6-134. Kapp, who had been ill all week, hit an unbeaten 31 off 23 balls to help the Scorchers to a respectable total, but it was with the ball that she had the most impact. The 31-year-opening old’s two overs in the powerplay cost just two runs, putting the Strikers under immediate pressure. Kapp concluded with 1-25 from four overs, including a maiden against her husband and Strikers starter Dane van Niekerk (six off 13 balls). The Scorchers had previously reached two finals, both of which ended in defeat to a Sydney Sixers team that included Kapp. After a stellar season with the Melbourne Renegades, Indian Harmanpreet Kaur was crowned player of the Women’s Big Bash League tournament. Women’s cricket benefits from diversity, as the Indian contingent improves the quality of the WBBL.
The Scorchers, on the other hand, had Kapp on their squad this time, and he proved to be their fortunate charm. The 15,511 in attendance for the championship game was the highest ever for a single WBBL event. After the home side was put in, Star Scorchers openers Sophie Devine (35 off 33 balls) and Beth Mooney (19 off 25 balls) struggled to get going, never really finding their rhythm despite sharing a 52-run opening partnership. Mooney was the first to go when she hit Tahlia McGrath to mid-off, while Devine’s innings were cut short by van Niekerk’s superb direct hit. Kapp got off to a shaky start in her innings, failing to score off her first four balls, but she quickly settled in. When she was obliged to confront her wife van Niekerk in the 16th over, her nerves would have been on edge.
Van Niekerk had been fired by Kapp twice this season, but she was unable to avenge herself. The Strikers were stunned by Kapp’s early bowling, and they were in disarray when star opener Katie Mack (six off 13 balls) was removed in the fifth over by Devine. McGrath (36 off 29 balls) and Laura Wolvaardt (25 off 28 balls) put up a 65-run partnership to give the Strikers a fighting chance, but the challenge proved too much in the end. Despite Madeline Penna’s best efforts, Adelaide fell short of their target of 36 runs in the final three overs (30no off 21 balls). Given that they had to win two elimination finals in the span of two days against the third-placed Heat and second-placed Renegades, the fourth-placed Strikers did well simply to reach the decider. Perth, on the other hand, qualified for the final after finishing first on the ladder.