Perth have little time to soak up Tuesday’s win as they dash across the country for a crack at making the WBBL|11 Final
Alana King has vowed to keep bowling through the pain, as Perth Scorchers head to Sydney determined to overcome the odds and claim a spot in the Weber WBBL|11 Final.
The Aussie spin star produced the game-turning moment on Tuesday as the Scorchers held off the Stars in the Knockout at the WACA Ground, deceiving Amy Jones to have the Englishwoman stumped when Melbourne were on the charge at 1-101 chasing 174.
It sparked a collapse of 8-44 as Perth wrapped up a convincing 28-run win, with King, fellow spinner Lilly Mills and rising quick Chloe Ainsworth ripping through their rivals.
King, who has been playing with a broken little finger on her right bowling hand for the majority of the season, had been hit for 17 runs by Jones and Meg Lanning in her first two overs, but declared after the game she was always confident Perth would find a way.
“(We knew) we just had to stay really calm and we knew our best ball was going to be good enough … we know the WACA like the back of our hand and these are our conditions,” King said.
“When you’ve still got Meg Lanning at the crease alongside Amy Jones, that was a formidable partnership they put on … we knew we just needed to get a couple more wickets in a row, and then it’s funny what finals can do with the pressure building.
“I’m really proud of how the bowlers went about it, we stuck fat with each other and got the job done in front of our home fans.
“We stuck to our game plan and we kept things really simple … we knew we had to keep the stumps in play as much as we could, we knew that we had to keep making them play the shots and with ‘Millsy’ and I, the way we bowled, we’re pretty proud that we did that and played our role.”
Speaking to media post-match with her broken digit returned to its protective casing, King confirmed it had impeded her ability to find her usual prodigious spin throughout the tournament.
It’s meant that despite coming into WBBL|11 in the form of her life after a starring turn at the ODI World Cup, King has only claimed nine wickets at 32.88 in 11 matches this Big Bash, her lowest return since 2019.
“It’s hampered me a lot … it hasn’t been ideal. It hasn’t been the season that I wanted to contribute to the Scorchers,” King said.
“Just playing through a fair bit of pain and I’ll still continue to play through – I’ve hopefully got only eight more overs left in me, and then I’ll have a little bit of a break.
“But for me, it’s just trying to get as much as I can out of myself and try to play a role that I can for Soph (Devine) and the Scorchers.”
Perth have now won their last three matches as they head east on Wednesday to prepare for their showdown with the Sixers.
The one-day break between games gives them little time to prepare, while the Scorchers have not played at North Sydney Oval since WBBL|09.
The Sixers also got the better of Perth when the sides met on the opening day of the season.
“Finals are a different game, I think, no matter how you’ve gone throughout the season,” King said.
“It’s do or die, everyone wants to win, everyone wants to be in Hobart on Saturday.
“I hope we’re on the better side of it, but it’s going to be a great game.
“They’re going to be a tough team to beat at North Sydney.
“We’ll pack our bags as quick as we can tonight, get on the flight tomorrow, and we’ll talk about the Sydney Sixers when we get there.”
WBBL|11 finals schedule
The Knockout: Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs
The Challenger: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers, North Sydney Oval (Thursday, December 11, 7.15pm AEDT)
The Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of The Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Saturday, December 13, 7.15pm AEDT)
