While Thunder captain Rachael Haynes lost the toss, she said being put up to bowl first was what she wanted and her bowlers put in their “best performance of the season”.
The pace of Shabnim Ismail (2-12) backed up by the swing Sammy-Jo Johnson (2-11), stunned the Stars’ strong top-order and they never recovered, ending their innings on 9-87.
There was little doubt the Thunder would win the run chase to take the match, winding up on 3-87 with Haynes on 21 not out alongside Heather Knight on 26.
“I though our bowlers did a really good job just taking advantage of the conditions and it was tricky early for the batters,” Haynes said.
Speaking after the match, Haynes described the team energy as “really positive” throughout the tournament and said the victory was “pretty special”.
“I actually think we played some of our best cricket when we were under pressure,” she said.
“It just felt like something was going to happen and even when we lost some of the games, I knew what we were capable of.
“So it was just about giving people confidence and making sure they were really clear on what it was they had to do at different times.”
