Cometh the hour, cometh the woman.
Ellyse Perry produced the best T20 knock of her life to help the Sixers secure second spot on the WBBL ladder as Sydney survived one of the greatest games of all time to beat the Strikers by a run.
With both teams vying for the fourth and final spot in the playoffs, the Sixers superstar delivered when her team needed her most with 111 off 71 at North Sydney Oval as the hosts reached 4-173.
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That total looked like more than enough as the visitors slipped to have a 3 per cent chance of victory with five overs to go, but some big hitting from Bridget Patterson (65 not out off 35) left them needing 18 off the final over.
Patterson started the over with two fours and a six as the Strikers needed three off two to steal a spot in the finals.
But Sixers skipper Ash Gardner took a wicket and then the Sixers were clutch in the field as a relay throw ended up with Alyssa Healy who held her nerve to run out former teammate Sophie Ecclestone to leave Adelaide one run short of a miracle.
“They were calling the ball down to ‘Midge’s’ (Healy) end even though I could’ve taken the stumps,” Gardner said.
“In those pressure moments, you just need to try and keep your cool. I would’ve hated to know what my heart rate was in that last over.”
PEZBALL
Perry had a couple of chances but was otherwise flawless as she brought up her highest T20 score and also became just the second player to reach 5000 WBBL runs.
You could tell she was on from the outset as the international weapon whacked the first ball of the match to the fence, with Perry smashing 16 boundaries and three sixes on the way to her third WBBL century.
She had a couple of lives, with Perry surviving on 65 when Eleanor Larosa took a stunning one-handed grab, only for the third umpire to spot a front foot no-ball, while she also chopped a ball onto the stumps on 91 but the bails stayed on.
The former skipper brought up her hundred off 65 balls with a boundary and had great support from Sophia Dunkley (54 off 40) as the pair put on 141 for the opening wicket.
“I think she (Perry) has been in great form the whole season, but she just got out at different times,” Gardner said.
“To take that kind of confidence into the finals (will be huge for her). She’s not the type of person who talks about it, but you know deep down that cricket is a confidence game.
“Whether you like it or not, sometimes you have to ride that confidence. She said she rode that luck today, but you don’t make hundreds (without a bit of luck).”
SIXERS SEAL SECOND
Perry’s knock couldn’t have come at a better time as the Sixers sealed a top-two finish and a home grand final qualifier on Thursday night, with Sydney to take on the Hurricanes in the decider if they win.
A loss would have seen them slip to fifth with Adelaide claiming the other finals spot, but the Strikers fell agonisingly short of pinching their place.
It was a bizarre season for Strikers who had three games end in no results with wild weather and a stray ball causing a divot in the pitch causing all kinds of problems.
LAROSA FLOURISHES
Her teammates struggled with the ball, but Larosa showed that she has the potential to be a star of the future.
The Strikers quick took 4-20 from her four overs and was on a hat-trick in a brilliant final over that saw her remove Australian stars Perry, Healy and Gardner.
And it seems unfair that her catch didn’t count, with Perry even applauding the incredible effort.
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