Ash Gardner’s all-round show (25-ball 64 & 2-37) helped Sydney Sixers secure a 9-run win (DLS Method) in the rain-impacted 16-over-a-side Sydney derby, against Sydney Thunder at the North Sydney Oval on Sunday (November 8). She was supported by Ellyse Perry’s 51-ball 59* and Caoimhe Bray’s 4-28 as Sixers clinched their fourth successive win of the season, strengthening their position at the top of the table.

Put in to bat, Sixers struggled to find the big shots early on. Even as there was the odd boundary hit every now and then, Sophia Dunkley departed for a run-a-ball 15, and Melie Kerr found the going tough, especially against Hannah Darlington.

At the end of the ninth over, when rain stopped play, Kerr had crawled her way to only 14 off 17 balls. Perry, at the other end, also wasn’t striking at run-a-ball after facing 22 deliveries. With the rain break reducing four overs each from each side’s quota, Melie was retired, and Sixers resumed the game with a new vigour.

Perry got going by crunching the first two legitimate deliveries after the break for boundaries, and Gardner cut loose from the get-go. She smoked five boundaries and as many sixes in 25 balls. Perry ended the innings by cracking three boundaries in the final over - bringing up her half-century in the process - to lift Sixers to 162 for 2.

In response, Thunder lost openers Voll and Phoebe Litchfield early in the chase. Mid-way through the fourth over, they were already reduced to 34 for 3. Laura Harris provided some momentum with a 10-ball blitz that helped her pick 35, but barring Nadine de Klerk, there were no hefty contributions from the other end. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and were eventually bowled out for 158, nine short of the par score.

Brief Scores: Sydney Sixers 162/2 in 16 overs (Ash Gardner 64*, Ellyse Perry 59; Lauren Bell 1-26) beat Sydney Thunder 158 in 15.3 overs (Laura Harris 35, Nadine de Klerk 30; Caoimhe Bray 4-28) by 9 runs (DLS Method)

Sophie Devine’s all-round show (24-ball 55 & 2-18) helped Perth Scorchers clinch their fourth win as many games, as they secured a comfortable 6-wicket win against Melbourne Stars to move to the top of the table.

Chasing 137 for victory, they went past the target with five overs to spare. Even as Katie Mack departed cheaply. Beth Mooney had set in early, and in the company of Devine, ensured the control didn’t slip out of Scorchers’ hands. The experienced duo blazed away in their 72-run stand off only 31 balls, with much of the explosion coming from Devine’s bat. Even as Stars tried to claw their way back with three wickets in quick succession, the chase had become a mere formality by then.

The pace slowed down, but Mickayla Hinkley and Chloe Piparo took them over the line with an unbeaten 28-run stand.

Earlier in the day, opting to bat, Stars never found the momentum they needed even as Meg Lanning held strong from one end. After a slowish start in the powerplay where Rhys McKenna was kept in check, Fatima Sana cleaned her up on 12. Scorchers then kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals, with none of the batters managing to make an impact - apart from Lanning, who stroked 10 boundaries en route to a cautious 56. Alana King proved especially difficult to put away.

After Lanning departed in the 18th over, with only 105 on the board, Georgia Prestwidge pressed the accelerator by tonking two boundaries and as many sixes in an 11-ball 23 to help Stars reach 136 for 6.

Brief Scores: Melbourne Stars 136/6 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 56, Georgia Prestwidge 23*; Sophie Devine 2-18, Amy Edgar 2-33) lost to Perth Scorchers 137/4 in 15 overs (Sophie Devine 55, Beth Mooney 28; Sophie Day 2-34) by 6 wickets.