Sarah Coyte struck the final ball of the chase to the boundary as Sydney Sixers beat Brisbane Heat by four wickets in a WBBL|12 thriller at Allan Border Field. Ellyse Perry’s 58 off 38 balls built the chase of 155, and Alice Capsey’s unbeaten 21 kept it alive.
Brisbane, Australia: Two runs to win, one to tie, and a run-out that had just torn up the plan. The Sixers’ Friday-night chase came down to one delivery and one tail-ender. Coyte, who had walked in with the match in the balance, sent the ball wide of backward point for four and finished it on 157 for 6.
Redmayne and Knott give the Heat a platform
Brisbane Heat set the target themselves, finishing on 154 for 5 after 20 overs. Captain Georgia Redmayne anchored the innings with 58 off 44 balls. Charli Knott supplied the power, hitting 57 off 47 with five fours and three sixes before Ashleigh Gardner removed her.
Annie O’Neil added a brisk 18 off 12 balls late on, and the Heat had a total that demanded a proper chase. The home side, who recently signed India wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia as Jess Jonassen’s injury replacement, are due to play again on 1 November.
Perry sets the chase in motion
Ellyse Perry answered with the innings of the night. She made 58 off 38 balls to get the Sixers moving, with Sophia Dunkley adding 37 off 26. For long stretches the chase looked comfortable. Then it was not.
A middle-order slide cost the Sixers several wickets in quick succession, and the equation tightened. What had been a measured pursuit became a scramble against the Heat’s bowlers.
Capsey steadies, Coyte finishes
Alice Capsey was the calm head. Her unbeaten 21 off 14 balls brought the required rate back under control, and with Lucy Hamilton bowling the final over the Sixers needed five to win. Tight bowling trimmed that to three off two balls.
The finish then turned on a single moment. Erin Burns was run out going for a second run off the penultimate delivery, leaving two needed off the last ball, with one run enough only to force a Super Over. Coyte, who faced just that one ball, found the boundary. Capsey, at the other end, remained unbeaten on 21. Hamilton’s four overs had cost 38 runs without a wicket.
What comes next
Both sides return on 1 November at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney: the Heat face Sydney Thunder, and the Sixers meet Hobart Hurricanes. Brisbane will want to forget a final over that slipped away, while the Sixers carry a last-ball win into their next outing.
Brisbane Heat 154/5 (20 overs): Georgia Redmayne 58 (44), Charli Knott 57 (47), Annie O’Neil 18 (12)
Sydney Sixers 157/6 (20 overs): Ellyse Perry 58 (38), Sophia Dunkley 37 (26), Alice Capsey 21* (14), Sarah Coyte 4* (1)
Result: Sydney Sixers won by four wickets, Coyte hitting the winning boundary off the final ball
