Brisbane Heat win WBBL title on bizarre final-over mishap

Brisbane Heat have denied the Sydney Sixers another WBBL title in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Saturday’s thrilling final at Drummoyne Oval went right down to the wire, with Brisbane needing five off the last over to win.

With four required off five balls, Laura Harris pulled a short ball towards the deep square boundary.

Sixers fielders Erin Burns and Sara McGlashan converged on the ball and appeared to be destined to keep it inside the boundary.

However the ball bounced off the knee of one player and into the back of the other, propelling it over the boundary for the winning runs.

It sparked crazy scenes as Heat players rushed onto the field to celebrate.

It marks the Heat’s maiden title and the first time a Sydney team hasn’t won it.

Mooney the hero with gutsy knock

After being set 132 for victory, Harris and Delissa Kimmince guided the underdogs over the line against the two-time reigning champions.

However Beth Mooney was the hero, defying illness to hit a match-winning 65 off 46 balls in front of a sold out crowd of 5,368 – and several hundred more watching from vantage points outside the suburban ground in Sydney’s inner west.

After being outstanding behind the stumps during the Sixers’ knock – taking two catches including a ripper to dismiss Erin Burns – Mooney was visibly struggling in the stifling heat.

The Brisbane trainers on several occasions ran out drinks to the left-hander and she was frequently down on her haunches.

But she gutsed it out, bringing up her 50 in 35 balls and putting on 84 runs alongside Kirby Short (29) for the third wicket.

There were several nervous overs after Dane Van Niekerk removed Short and Mooney in the 15th over.

Mooney was undone by a diving Ellyse Perry catch at at deep midwicket and when Jess Jonassen was caught lbw, the Heat had lost 3-5.

Yet the Heat were good enough to get over the line in what was a fitting tournament finale.

Earlier, Grace Harris (3-23) and Kimmince (2-25) fired to put the underdogs on top when they restricted the Sixers to 7-131.

The Sixers’ powerful top order failed to fire on the big stage with Ellyse Perry top-scoring with 33.

Perry was dropped by Laura Harris on 23 however the superstar allrounder – who was smashed records by hitting 777 runs this BBL season – failed to make them pay, hitting just one boundary during her 37-ball innings.

In all, the Sixers hit just eight fours and three sixes during their innings and only some late hitting by Dane van Niekerk (32 not out off 15 balls) gave her side something to bowl at.

Kimmince (2-25) struck an early blow when she bowled Alyssa Healy (18) to have the Sixers rattled at 1-26 and the home side plodded along for the rest of their innings.

Harris finished with 3-23 including the key wick et of No.3 Ashleigh Gardner (23).

with AAP