When: Thursday @ 4.10am in the UK

Where: BT Sport

Perth Scorchers

Batting

In Form

• Elyse Villani – The captain has led from the front this season with 481 runs at a Strike Rate of 134.
• Nicole Bolton – Has made her case for a return to the Southern Stars T20 side she was dropped from in 2016, with 440 runs at 101.

Watch Out For

• Lauren Ebsary – The 34-year-old veteran has played a crucial role down the order for the Scorchers, with 155 runs at 117.

Bowling

In Form

• Katherine Brunt – The leading wicket-taker in WBBL03, with 22 wickets; and the lowest Economy Rate in the competition*, going at just 4.61 runs per over.
• Piepa Cleary – With 12 wickets and an Economy Rate of 6.02, her medium pace has kept things tight in the middle overs.

Watch Out For

• Nat Sciver – The England all-rounder hasn’t had a great WBBL with the ball, taking just 4 wickets at 7.78 – so she is due a performance, and she likes a big stage!

Sydney Thunder

Batting

In Form

• Rachel Haynes – The Southern Stars stand-in skipper might not actually be Meg Lanning, but she has been doing a pretty good impression recently – leading the Aussies as they retained the Women’s Ashes, and scoring 425 runs in WBBL, at a Strike Rate of 121.
• Alex Blackwell – The Thunder captain has been her usual solid presence in the middle order, making 329 runs at 99.

Watch Out For

• Naomi Stalenberg – She might have slipped slightly out of the limelight recently, with the emergence of Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner; but she has still made 226 runs at 115 in WBBL03, with a top score of 48.

Bowling

In Form

• Rene Farrell – With 17 wickets at 5.85, the semi-retired Southern Star (she quit ODIs but remains theoretically available for T20 selection) continues to show that whatever “it” is… she’s still got it!
• Sam Bates – The young left-arm spinner has had a break-out season for the Thunder, taking 16 wickets at 5.78.

Watch Out For

• Belinda Vakarewa – Vakarewa narrowly missed-out on Women’s Ashes selection this time, but she has had a good WBBL with 11 wickets at an impressive Economy Rate of 5.53 – is this her big chance to make a case to add to her 1 (so far) international cap?

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* Minimum 10 overs bowled!

After the long World Cup summer, followed immediately by the Women’s Ashes, the English contingent at the WBBL was reduced to just 5 this season – so at (roughly) the half-way point in the season, how have they all been doing?

The leading English player this term has undoubtedly been Katherine Brunt at the Scorchers, who has taken 11 wickets at a very economical 4.78 runs-per-over – this ranks her 2nd overall in WBBL, behind only Dane van Niekerk with 16 wickets at 5.37.

Also at the Scorchers, Nat Sciver ranks 10th overall with the bat, having hit 197 runs at a Strike Rate of 132. (Though to put this in a little perspective, 8 players have scored over 50 runs at a better Strike Rate.) However, Sciver has been much less successful with the ball – she has bowled 22 overs in all (only one less than Brunt) but has taken just 2 wickets, conceding an expensive 9.45 runs-per-over.

Opening the batting with Suzie Bates for the Strikers, Tammy Beaumont has been a solid performer, averaging 24; whilst at the Stars, Georgia Elwiss has made herself a reliable presence in the middle-order, including a match-winning (and player-of-the-match-winning) 59* against the Renegades last weekend.

Finally, Lauren Winfield has had a bit of a nightmare with the Hurricanes, who are propping-up the table without a win so far. Winfield started the season opening the batting, but has subsequently slipped down into the middle-order – it doesn’t seem to have helped much though, and she currently averages just 9 with a top score of only 15.

Tammy Beaumont
Adelaide Strikers
Runs: 195
Highest Score: 46
Strike Rate: 98

Katherine Brunt
Perth Scorchers
Runs: 68
Highest Score: 29
Strike Rate: 81
Wickets: 11
Economy: 4.78

Georgia Elwiss
Melbourne Stars
Runs: 118
Highest Score: 59*
Strike Rate: 105
Wickets: 2
Economy: 7.94

Nat Sciver
Perth Scorchers
Runs: 197
Highest Score: 84
Strike Rate: 132
Wickets: 2
Economy: 9.45

Lauren Winfield
Hobart Hurricanes
Runs: 72
Highest Score: 15
Strike Rate: 80