A brilliant century partnership from English pair Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey catapulted the Melbourne Stars to a 33-run victory over Perth Scorchers at the WACA Ground last night.
Scorchers fall short of Stars
Sophie Day's outstanding season with the ball has continued as the Melbourne Stars dealt a blow to the Perth Scorchers' chances of a top-two finish in Weber WBBL|09.
After Stars opener Sophia Dunkley (73 off 49) scored her first fifty of the season to help the Stars post 6-157, Day picked up 4-26 - an unprecedented fourth four-wicket haul for the tournament - to see the Scorchers restricted to 9-124 at the WACA Ground.
It meant the second-ranked Scorchers missed a chance to replace Adelaide Strikers on the top of the WBBL|09 table.
The team that finishes on top advances directly to the final, which they host, while the second-ranked team hosts the mid-week Eliminator and Challenger finals.
The Scorchers have one game remaining, against the Strikers on Friday, while they could miss out on a home final altogether to Sydney Thunder, who are one point behind and have a game in hand.
Batting first, Dunkley and fellow England import Alice Capsey (43 off 34) gave the visitors a strong start before a late flurry of wickets saw Annabel Sutherland (9), Tess Flintoff (0) and Sophie Reid (0) depart in quick succession as the Stars were restricted to 6-157.
The Stars then had the ideal start with the ball as Kim Garth (1-14) removed the dangerous Sophie Devine caught behind for a second-ball duck in the first over.
The Scorchers suffered another blow in the second over when Maddy Darke was caught at mid-off from a leading edge off Annabel Sutherland (2-19).
Day, the tournament's leading wicket-taker, then dismissed the WBBL|09 highest run scorer, with Beth Mooney (3) caught at long on to leave the hosts 3-19.
English imports Amy Jones (42 off 30) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (24 off 29) kept the Scorchers in the hunt, but the latter was stumped off spinner Capsey, before Day removed Jones to extinguish their hopes.
The Scorchers now travel to Adelaide to take on the top-of-the-table Adelaide Strikers in the Stadium Series match at Adelaide Oval tomorrow night.
A win against the Strikers would put the Scorchers in pole position to finish second and secure a home final at the WACA Ground, with the final ladder positions to be determined following the final few matches this weekend.