Role players have helped Perth Scorchers reach WBBL final, says former Australian captain Lisa Sthalekar

Perth Scorchers have done it the hard way to reach the Women’s Big Bash League final. And while, according to former Australian cricket captain Lisa Sthalekar, they’ve done it with “everyone contributing” across their team, minor champions Hobart Hurricanes boast the same quality. The Scorchers have played back-to-back knockout finals over the past week, making light work of Melbourne Stars at home before an upset win over Sydney Sixers on the road. Opener Beth Mooney was outstanding in both matches, with match-defining knocks of 45 and 76, as the Scorchers booked their ticket to the final at Bellerive Oval on Saturday. Sthalekar said their senior players had stepped up when the Scorchers needed them, with both Mooney and captain Sophie Devine named in the Team of the Tournament. But they haven’t been left to do it alone. “The addition of Katie Mack has solved the problem they have trying to fix since splitting up the Mooney/Devine partnership at the top to lengthen their batting order,” said Sthalekar, a columnist for The Nightly. “The additional of the two English strikers in the middle order (Freya Kemp and Paige Scholfield) has given the firepower they were missing. “In the absence of King within the first 6 matches, Lilly Mills has stepped into that role with her off-spin.” And while King has starred since returning, despite a broken finger in her bowling hand, a rising star has stolen the show. “The crowd favourite has to be Chloe Ainsworth,” Sthalekar said. “The young speedster gets white line fever and is quite willing to go toe to toe with the best players in the world. “A prime example was the spell that she bowled to (Stars opener and Australian cricket great) Meg Lanning and then the reaction once she came back and took her with her first delivery in the power surge.” Ainsworth also took the prized wicket of Australian captain and Sixers star Alyssa Healy, who made just one run. The Scorchers have named an unchanged squad for the WBBL final.