This season looks to be more even than ever, with every single team having won at least one game and lost at least one game, and the quality of cricket has been outstanding. 

Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers

The round kicked off on Friday night when the Scorchers met the Sixers at North Sydney Oval.

The Scorchers were dealt an early blow when teams were announced, with skipper Meg Lanning out with a back issue.

English import Amy Jones replaced her at top of the order, fresh off of a fantastic T20 World Cup, and filled in brilliantly, bringing up her half-century off just 25 deliveries. Elyse Villani provided some solid foil at the top of the order, with the openers sharing a 77-run stand.

When Villani was dismissed in the eighth over, the Scorchers looked on track for 180 or more, but an attacking spell of middle-innings bowling from Dane van Niekerk halted Perth’s momentum.

Perth’s middle and lower order will need to stand up if they’re going to cause damage in this competition, and they failed on Friday with batters four through eight combining for just 34 runs off 33 balls when their team needed to accelerate.

The match belonged to Ellyse Perry though, who scored a fantastic century to guide her team home.

Van Niekerk rounded out a solid match by playing some conventional cricket shots to steady the innings and provide a handy partner for Perry.

With the Sixers needing 42 off 30, Perry hit a beautiful six over cover and a slog sweep for four to ensure her team would cruise to victory.

With eleven balls to go, the Sixers needed seven to win, and Perry was on 98 not out. Van Niekerk was on strike, though, and clearly didn’t get the memo as she smashed a boundary to bring Perry’s hundred into question.

However, on the next ball van Niekerk took a tactical single to get Perry on strike, with two runs to win and two runs to bring up her century. Heather Graham nearly ruined the fairy-tale by bowling a wide, but with scores level, Perry went straight back over the bowlers’ head to bring up her century and guide her team to victory with the winning runs.

The Scorchers will rue their poor fielding, particularly Kate Cross, who made three errors that cost her team boundaries.