Big gamble pays off for WBBL legend

Scorchers skipper Sophie Devine says it wasn’t her choice to slide down the order, but the move proved to be a masterstroke with the international star blasting her highest score of the season as Perth smashed the Thunder to get their campaign back on track.

Only two players have scored more runs than Devine in WBBL history, with her fearless stroke play at the top of the order allowing the Scorchers to dominate from the outset.

But following back-to-back ducks against the Renegades and Hurricanes, Perth coach Becky Grundy decided to change things up by promoting Chloe Piparo to open alongside Beth Mooney, with Devine dropping back to four.

Devine smacked 48 off 34, Dayalan Hemalatha had her highest score of the season and the Scorchers posted 7/171 – their biggest total of the tournament this year – to thrash the ladder-leading Thunder by 74 runs on Tuesday night.

“It wasn’t my decision, it was the coach’s decision, and it was what was best for the team,” Devine told the NewsWire after the game.

“That’s what this whole environment is about – what’s best for the team.

“We know as a batting unit that we haven’t performed, and I don’t think we’d scored over 140 in the previous five games, so something had to change.

“We still had belief in the top six, but it was just about shuffling it around. Credit to Chloe Piparo going up the top of the order, and it helps that she does it in the WNCL.

“We’ll certainly look at what we do moving forward, but I’m just glad different people were able to contribute in this innings.

“We’ll have discussions (about where I bat in the future), but it’ll be hard to change back based on how we played (against the Thunder).”

Devine still wasn’t overly happy with her own performance in a warning shot to the rest of the league that has never been so tight heading into the finals.

The Scorchers have plenty of experienced stars ready to fire in the finals, but they also have one of the most exciting young quicks in the country, with Chloe Ainsworth again starring with the ball on Tuesday.

Ainsworth, 19, has taken nine wickets from six matches this season and is destined for higher honours according to her skipper.

“It’s easy to get wound up in the hype around Chloe because she’s going to be a huge talent,” Devine declared ahead of a rematch against the Thunder in Melbourne on Friday.

“But she’s also young, and that’s something we need to be really mindful of. She’s going to be a great cricketer for 10, 15, 20 years if she wants to be, but it’s about giving her the time to thrive in her game.

“She’s grown from last year to this year and I think she’s led the pace unit. For her to take that lead and keep steaming in is something we want her to continue doing.

“I’m sure she’ll be in Aussie colours soon, but hopefully it’s when I’ve left international cricket.”