The Perth Scorchers' highly anticipated home opener in the WBBL 2025 season turned into a nightmare scenario, as they suffered a crushing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of rivals Sydney Sixers at the WACA Ground.
In front of 3,589 dedicated fans, the home side failed to fire with the bat, crumbling to a meagre 109 all out before the Sixers' opening pair chased down the target with embarrassing ease.
Gardner's Dominant Spell Destroys Scorchers
The match was defined by a spectacular bowling performance from Sydney Sixers skipper Ash Gardner. The off-spinner was virtually unplayable, finishing with remarkable figures of 5-15 from her four overs.
Gardner's brilliance dismantled the Scorchers' top order, claiming the prized wickets of all three of Perth's international imports. She removed superstar skipper Sophie Devine and English batter Paige Schofield with consecutive deliveries, sending the home crowd into stunned silence.
Devine's dismissal was particularly controversial. After she strode past a delivery from Gardner, the ball missed the keeper's gloves but hit her midriff and bounced back onto the stumps. Replays suggested keeper Emma Manix-Geeves' gloves may have brushed the stumps, leading to boos from the crowd as Devine was given out.
The Scorchers' innings never recovered from these early blows. Mikayla Hinkley provided the only resistance with 31 runs off 30 balls, but regular wickets fell at the other end.
Sixers' Openers Make Light Work of Chase
Any hopes Perth had of defending their modest total were quickly extinguished by the formidable opening partnership of Ellyse Perry and Sophia Dunkley.
Dunkley was particularly destructive, smashing an ominous half-century and showing little respect for the Scorchers' boundary riders, regularly clearing them with powerful hitting.
Perry provided the perfect anchor at the other end, finishing unbeaten on 47 runs as the Sixers reached the target without losing a single wicket.
Perth's decision to open with their big bowling weapons, Chloe Ainsworth and Alana King, backfired spectacularly as neither could break the partnership or contain the flow of runs.
Post-Match Reactions and Road Ahead
Despite the comprehensive defeat, Scorchers' top-scorer Mikayla Hinkley remained optimistic about her team's new imports.
"We're a class line-up, the new girls have played a lot of cricket and I think they will be disappointed tonight, but once they find their feet in the competition, they're going to do really, really well," Hinkley said.
She specifically backed English recruits Freya Kemp and Paige Schofield to make their mark. "Freya Kemp, she's only 20 years old, and she can hit a ball, the same with Paige. They're class players, so they're not going to take long to find their feet."
The Scorchers now face the challenge of rebounding on the road, with their next matches taking them to the east coast. Hinkley expressed confidence that the team would quickly turn their form around, stating, "Once we get to the east coast, I think we're going to take this competition by storm."
The heavy defeat highlights the work ahead for Perth, who fielded three new players in their top six batting order, suggesting team synergy may take time to develop.
