Strikers openers inflict sixth straight loss on Heat

The Brisbane Heat's winless rut extended to a sixth game as they were beaten by the Adelaide Strikers, who overhauled a 170-run target in a game that went to the last ball. Fifties from openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tammy Beaumont set the chase up before Bridget Patterson polished the chase off with important boundaries at the death.

Asked to bat first, the Heat were led by Lauren Winfield-Hill's 36-ball 47 at the top of the order. Important contributions from captain Jess Jonassen and Georgia Redmayne kept them going through the middle, while Nadine de Klerk's 9-ball 25-run blitz at the death powered them to 169/5 in 20 overs. Despite picking up regular wickets, the Strikers were unable to stem the Heat's momentum.

In response, the Strikers' openers got them off to a brilliant start and shared a 92-run stand that ended when Wolvaardt fell for a 33-ball 51 at the end of the 10th over. Beaumont fell for an identical 33-ball 51 a few overs later. The Strikers subsequently lost momentum with Madeline Penna falling an over later while Tahlia McGrath struggled to get going.

McGrath fell in the 18th over having struck a couple of boundaries, leaving the Strikers needing 22 off the last two overs. The pressure eased when Jonassen conceded 15 runs off the 19th over, including three boundaries. The Strikers got over the line with Patterson pinching a leg bye off the final delivery, despite de Klerk bowling a tight final over.

Brief scores: Brisbane Heat 169/5 in 20 overs (Winfield-Hill 47, Jonassen 37; Amanda-Jade Wellington 2-31) lost to Adelaide Strikers 170/5 in 20 overs (Wolvaardt 51, Beaumont 51; Hamilton 2-32) by 6 wickets