OTD | Adelaide Strikers claimed back-to-back WBBL titles after defeating Brisbane Heat in 2023 

Adelaide Strikers created history during the 2023 season of the Women’s Big Bash League. The South Australian team beat Brisbane Heat by 3 runs to become the first-ever team to successfully defend their title. Adelaide had won the title in 2022 by beating Sydney Sixers by ten runs to lift the title. 

Adelaide is one of the top teams in the league and reached the finals in 2021 where they lost to Perth Scorchers by 12 runs. So far Adelaide has won the WBBL title thrice and has reached the finals once.

Some of the other successful teams in the history of the WBBL are Sydney Sixers, Brisbane Heat, and Sydney Thunder having won the title twice each. Perth Scorchers have won the title once with Melbourne Renegades winning the title in 2024 beating Brisbane in the finals. 

Adelaide Strikers take WBBL 2023 title home with close win over Brisbane

It was Adelaide Strikers who batted first and could score a mere 125/5 from their 20 overs. Opener Katie Mack scored 3 before falling to Nicola Hancock. Laura Wolvaardt and skipper Tahlia McGrath then added 66 runs for the 2nd wicket. The two batters looked set for a huge score before the partnership came to an end. 

Nicola Hancock castled McGrath for 38 runs from 34 balls with 6 boundaries and a six. Jess Jonassen then got the key wicket of Laura Wolvaardt who scored 39 with the help of four hits to the fence. Some good bowling from Brisbane ensured that Adelaide couldn’t get the much-needed push towards the end of the innings. 

Needing 126 runs to win, Brisbane began with openers Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne adding 32 runs for the 1st wicket. Jemma Barsby removed Harris for 13 while Amanda Wellington got the wicket of Redmayne for 22. Amelia Kerr was the best batter with 30 not out as the Heat lost wickets at regular intervals. Charli Knott did her best with 20 off 14 balls but the Adelaide strikers kept it tight. 

With 13 runs needed off 6 balls, the match went down to the wire. 2 runs came off the first 2 balls making it 11 needed from 4 balls. In the third ball of the over Amanda Wellington got the wicket of Georgia Voli for 3. The next ball, Hinkley hit Wellington for a six to make it 5 needed off 2. Wellington had the last laugh as she dismissed Hinkley in the next ball and gave a single to win the game for her side by 3 runs and take the title home. 

Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.

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