Australian Open spots on the line
Nicole Bolton’s return to the top of the order yielded immediate results for the Perth Scorchers as they warmed up for WBBL finals with an emphatic victory over the Hobart Hurricanes at Lilac Hill on Sunday.
The Scorchers will take on the Adelaide Strikers at Allan Border Field in Brisbane in one of two semifinals on Saturday, fighting it out for a chance to play in the final on Sunday.
Hello! 🤩Let’s relive Bolts’ glorious 6️⃣#MADETOUGH pic.twitter.com/NrH4J42uDR
— Perth Scorchers (@ScorchersBBL) November 30, 2019
Coming in at five, Bolton showed glimpses in the Scorchers’ loss to the Hurricanes at Lilac Hill on Saturday, scoring 21 runs from 19 balls to be the equal top-scorer.
But with Perth opting to field a line-up without England internationals Amy Jones and Nat Sciver the following day with the pair unavailable for finals, Bolton returned to the top of the order.
Bolton’s combination with captain Meg Lanning proved decisive as they put on an 154-run opening stand.
Bolton played a brilliant support role to Lanning with 44, before taking the all-important first wicket after opening the bowling.
Chloe Piparo also continued to be one of her side’s biggest weapons in the field and could yet have more of a role to play with the bat in finals with Jones and Sciver out of the team.
Lanning was delighted with their final performance before finals.
“A lot of confidence in the group heading into the semifinals next week, and you never know what can happen,” Lanning said.
“Adelaide have got really good depth, their bowling and batting is equally good, they’ve been the best team in the competition along with the (Brisbane) Heat.
“It’s a really tough challenge for our group, but hopefully we can give them a run for their money.”
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