WBBL: Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Sixers in a thrilling final to win their first title

Sydney: An ailing Beth Mooney smashed an impressive 65 as Brisbane Heat won their first women’s Big Bash League title on Saturday with four balls to spare in a thriller against the star-studded Sydney Sixers. Needing to chase down the Sixers’ 131 for seven, the Heat were in trouble early at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, losing two quick wickets to be 14 for two. [caption id=“attachment_5966161” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Brisbane Heat players celebrate after beating Sydney Sixers in the final. Twitter @WBBL[/caption] But opener Mooney, who was ill, reasserted control in scorching heat with captain Kirby Short (29), before Brisbane then lost 5-28 to bring the Sixers back into the game. Needing five off the last over, Laura Harris smashed a boundary past deep mid-wicket to secure the trophy. “They were pretty oppressive conditions out there and I haven’t been well the last couple of weeks, but I had a job to do,” said Mooney, who at one point doubled over and appeared to be vomit. “I was pretty hot and pretty cooked and the outfield wasn’t conducive to hitting boundaries which wasn’t ideal, but even when the run rate got to 7.9 I thought really good cricket shots were going to win this game.” Earlier, the Sixers did well with the bat to set a solid total with Ellyse Perry knocking 33 and Dane Van Niekerk 32. Perry was disappointed to lose but praised Mooney’s innings after the match. “She played really good cricket shots,” Perry told reporters. “I’ve seen Beth bat for a number of years, she’s incredibly good at finding pockets in the field, I think she’s better than anyone else in the world at that and she did that really well.”