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A remarkable final fortnight of the regular season by White Ferns captain Sophie Devine ensured her Perth Scorchers slipped into the Women’s Big Bash League semifinals despite a late slip on Sunday.
Devine and White Ferns’ teammates Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green, both from the Brisbane Heat, will be New Zealand’s representatives in the playoffs after the top four meet, with Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder on the other sides.
The top-ranked Stars will face the Scorchers, and the second-ranked Heat will face the Thunder to decide next Saturday’s finalists.
Devine hit 57 of 42 balls at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough for the Scorchers, who lost to Adelaide Strikers by three runs, chasing 160, to win. Suzie Bates, Devine’s teammate on the White Ferns, was part of the Strikers setup before suffering a tournament-ending shoulder injury.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Boom: Sophie Devine of the Scorchers meets the limit again in another half century at the WBBL.
Despite the loss, the Scorchers slipped into the semifinals in fourth place, with Devine’s form being a crucial factor.
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His last six innings of the regular season were worth 103, 4, 77 not-out, 45, 87 not-out and 57, as he also missed two games with a low back injury. In 11 innings, Devine was the tournament’s third-highest run scorer with 448 on an average of 56 and a hit rate of 130.
Legspinner Kerr caught 2-24 in four overs as the Heat achieved a comfortable final round victory over Melbourne Renegades by 43 runs using the Duckworth-Lewis method.
White Ferns Lea Tahuhu (2-16) and Amy Satterthwaite (14 of 13) played their final match of the tournament with their team Renegades finishing a disappointing seventh.
Matt King / Getty Images
White Ferns’ leg clamp Amelia Kerr celebrates another window for the Brisbane Heat, who qualified second to the WBBL semifinals.
Kerr, whose team is chasing three titles, had another quality regular season. In 13 games, he took 16 wickets (equal to fifth overall) at an average of 15.56 and an economy rate of 5.37.
Green did not play Sunday’s game and finished the regular season with 129 runs at 12.9 and a strike rate of 89.
Following their Big Bash engagements, Devine, Kerr and Green will return home for two weeks of controlled isolation, with their first engagement scheduled in the first Super Smash T20 match between their defending champion Wellington Blaze and Auckland Hearts at the Basin Reserve on Dec. 24.
