Charli Knott ton powers Brisbane Heat to first win of the season

Charli Knott's maiden T20 hundred set up Brisbane Heat's first win of the season as they overcame Adelaide Strikers by 14 runs in Sydney. Knott's 104 off 61 was powered by 12 fours and four sixes as Heat posted 184 for 4. Laura Wolvaardt (75 off 48) and Madeline Penna (68 off 45) tried to take Strikers close but they eventually fell short, finishing with 170 for 5.

Heat got off to a good start when given the chance to bat, combining Knott and Grace Harris to score 57 runs in an opening stand. Knott ensured that the scoring rate did not suffer as skipper Georgia Redmayne struggled to get going before being dismissed for an 11-ball seven. She and Yastika Bhatia, who also had a strike rate below 100, shared a 64-run stand for the third wicket, but Knott's frequent boundaries negated the slow batting around her.

Knott reached her hundred in 56 balls before getting run out in the 18th over, with Yastika also run out in the next over. Orla Prendergast and Annie O' Neil came up with cameos to take Heat past 150.

Wolvaardt faced the bulk of the deliveries in her partnership with Maia Bouchier as Strikers got off to a steady start. Before Bouchier was bowled out for a four-ball duck, Wolvaardt and Bouchier combined for 34 runs. Wolvaardt scored all of the runs. While Wolvaardt was also kept in check, Tahlia McGrath played a slow innings, scoring only 13 runs off 16 balls. This led to a 30-run stand for the second wicket that took 31 deliveries.

Following McGrath's dismissal, Penna joined Wolvaardt and the duo upped the ante, adding 77 in quick time. Heat then hit back with quick wickets, leaving Strikers needing 37 off the last two overs. A tight penultimate over from Lucy Hamilton left Strikers with an equation of 30 in the final over. Penna struck a couple of fours and a six but the target proved beyond Strikers' reach.