#KiwiWBBL03 Final Preview
Maybe it's no one's time?
The Women's Big Bash League final is upon us and despite the #KiwiWBBL not doing a whole lot of reppin' to the fullest, we do have a #KiwiWBBL presence on both teams in the final. Thamsyn Newton and her Perth Scorchers defeated Rachel Priest's Sydney Thunder and Sara McGlashan's Sydney Sixers absolutely smoked the #KiwiWBBL big dawgs Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates in the Sixers semi-final win over Adelaide Strikers.
296 Likes, 12 Comments - Sara McGlashan (@sara_mcglashan) on Instagram: "You bloody ripper #wbbl02champions"
That means a Thamsyn Newton vs Sara McGlashan #KiwiWBBL final and the most optimistic way I can paint this picture is to suggest that Newton and/or McGlashan will stand up when it matters most, to play a dominant role in this final. Neither Newton nor McGlashan has done anything of note in WBBL03 thus far, although we need to remember that for Newton especially, it's just great that she's here, playing for Perth and playing in a WBBL final.
Prior to WBBL03, I wasn't even sure that Newton would get consistent game time for Perth after being a late call up and lacking the experience of other international recruits. While she has earned plenty of game time, her role has been limited as she bats way down the order and is barely called upon to bowl.
Newton has played in 13 games, bowled in just 9 of those games and racked up 14.5 overs.
Let that simmer, then get a dose of context when you compare those numbers to the leading wicket-taker in WBBL03 and Newton's Scorchers homie Katherine Brunt; 13 games, 13inns, 51 overs, 23kts @ 10.47avg, 4.72rpo.
That's not to highlight how crappy Newton is, it's more about the usage of Newton and highlighting that Newton isn't required as much when Perth have such a dominant seamer. Newton has actually been rather handy when called upon, taking 6wkts @ 23.33avg/9.43rpo and despite not bowling or batting in the semi-final, Newton is in the exact position that can be low key crucial in such a final.
Perth have Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani in the top-five run-scorers, hence Newton hasn't been required to do too much with the bat so far. In a final though, against a Sixers team that has two of the top-three wicket-takers in Dane van Niekerk and Sarah Aley, Perth's batting depth may be tested and any runs that Newton scores down the order could be crucial.
137 Likes, 8 Comments - Thamsyn Newton (@thamsynnewton) on Instagram: "Get around the girls tomorrow 5pm for a bat & bowl. See ya there @jameslevings @kekebourke..."
Newton hit 16 off 15 balls a few games back when Perth were rolled for 76 by Adelaide (2nd highest-score in the innings) and then she followed that up with 10* of 6 balls in her next batting innings. These are the innings that suggest what Newton can do with the willow and if she can add 10+ runs with a strike-rate over 100 late in an innings, she could be an underground hero for Perth.
There may not be a need for Newton's bowling, yet she has a habit of taking a wicket when she does bowl and as Sydney's batters may not be preparing for Newton, if given an opportunity Newton could surprise. Newton hasn't bowled in her last two games and it'd be great if Sydney slept on her, forgetting that she even exists; Perth might steam through Sydney's line up and not need Newton though.
In following the WBBL closely, the dominance of Bates, Devine and Amy Satterthwaite has been accompanied by Lea Tahuhu's explosive seamers and the exceptional job-doing abilities of Sara McGlashan. The Sixers are stacked with talent and in Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner, they have three of the best batswomen in the world and that means that McGlashan isn't asked to be the star of the show.
McGlashan is instead there to offer her experience to Sydney's middle order and depending on how the batters ahead of her perform, McGlashan's experience will allow her to adapt to the situation and like Newton, McGlashan could be low key crucial. There's nothing exciting, or semi-exciting about McGlashan's WBBL03 campaign to dive into, however McGlashan's street cred is certified and she has proven that she can contribute to a winning team many times before.
There's a very high possibility of neither Newton nor McGlashan doing anything in this final, they have both played minor roles thus far and aren't overly influential to their teams performance. That's what you'd expect from the youngest member of the #KiwiWBBL crew and the oldest member; one is just trying to get in where she fits in and the other knows exactly how to play her role.
We can leave this to the universe to decide if we'll be graced with a #KiwiWBBL performance to savour, or multiple efforts in the final. Not only will it require the various gun-players for Perth and Sydney to fail to some extent with bat and ball, the stars will also need to align in Newton and McGlashan snapping up their opportunities.
Otherwise we can celebrate the fact that the WBBL03 final doesn't feature the #KiwiWBBL headline acts and the depth of the #KiwiWBBL crew is instead on display.
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Peace and love 27.