Brisbane Heat hit by Sydney Thunder defeat

Sammy-Jo Johnson hits a half-century and takes 1 for 32 as Thunder climb to fifth in the WBBL table

Mackay: Sydney Thunder 162-5, Brisbane Heat 153-9 - Sydney Thunder won by nine runs

Scorecard

Brisbane Heat's faint hopes of earning direct passage to the Women's Big Bash final are over after defeat to Sydney Thunder.

They needed victory in their last two games to stand any chance of leapfrogging Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers.

But a narrow loss to the Heat in Mackay means they will have to settle for a place in either the Challenger or Eliminator.

They though they face the table-topping Renegades in their final group match, they sit three points adrift of the summit.

Thunder are already out of playoff contention but their hopes of being the leading team of the chasing pack was enhanced by a credible victory in Mackay.

Six of their seven batters reach double figures as they made 162 for 5 from their 20 overs.

[~~INLINEIMG2~~]

Sammy-Jo Johnson top-scored with 52 from 36 balls. She was part of two half-century stands with Smriti Mandhana (29) and Phoebe Litchfield (24) before being run-out by Courtney Grace Sippel.

In the chase, a 99-run opening stand between Georgia Redmayne and Grace Harris had the Heat well in charge, leaving them needing 64 from the last nine remaining overs.

Both women reached their half-century but Harris and Laura Kimince were dismissed in the same over by Samatha Bates to turn the tide.

The double dismissal sparked a remarkable collapse where nine wickets fell for just 51.

Fifteen were required from the final over with three wickets in hand but Deepti Sharma conceded just six from it and dismissed Nicola Hancock and Nadine de Klerk to complete the defence.

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.