King stars as Sixers snared in Scorchers' spinners' web
Ellyse Perry made a half century but Sixers remain bottom of the table
AAP
01-Nov-2023
Alana King played a key role with bat and ball • Getty Images
Perth Scorchers 166 for 8 (King 33*, Gardner 3-38) beat Sydney Sixers 130 for 9 (Perry 59, Edgar 4-19) by 36 runs
Amy Edgar and Alana King spun the Perth Scorchers to a clinical 36-run win over the Sydney Sixers at the WACA Ground.
After King's unbeaten 33 off 14 balls lifted the Scorchers to 166 for 8, Edgar's career-best 4-19 kept the Sixers to a spluttering 130 for 9
Skipper Ellyse Perry was the only Sixers batter to make any impression whatsoever against a stifling performance from the Scorchers' tweakers, with Edgar being well supported by legspinner King.
"We're trying to make the WACA our fortress and we've done that two games now," player-of-the-match King said. "Bowling out here it's not always spinner-friendly, so when it is we've got to make the most of it. As a spin unit, we're really happy with this."
Scorchers (3-2) moved up to third position after notching their seventh victory from their past nine starts against the Sixers (1-4), who remain at the bottom of the points table.
Beth Mooney and Chloe Piparo combined for a quickfire 53 for the first wicket for the home side before Amy Jones and captain Sophie Devine stroked neat cameos.
Ash Gardner moved to the top of the top of the competition's wicket-taking leaderboard (10 at 14.70), her crafty spinners and some magnificent outfielding from the visitors sparking a 4 for 24 Scorchers collapse.
King came in at No. 8 and blasted the best knock of her WBBL career before impressing with the ball, dismissing Gardner for a first-ball duck and snaring the key scalp of Perry.
NZ great Suzie Bates' poor tournament continued, battling for timing and ultimately out slogging as Sixers never were able to get the asking-rate under control.
Bates, Erin Burns, Chloe Tryon and Mathilda Carmichael all fell to the probing Edgar, who proved difficult to get away.
Perry struck 10 boundaries in a typically classy knock but when she holed out to opposite number Sophie Devine in the deep, Sixers' faint hopes went with her.
"We played some good patches of cricket but we were a bit untidy with the ball," Perry said. "And across the whole [batting] innings, none of us quite got going."