Ellyse Perry was again central to a Sydney Sixers victory as her 81 off 70 balls formed the cornerstone of their 40-run over in the local derby against the Sydney Thunder at Drummoyne Oval to, briefly at least, sit top of the table. On a surface where free-scoring was difficult it took the Sixers time to get into their stride with Perry and Alyssa Healy an understated 0 for 57 after 10 overs. Healy, who was dropped three times, then got going before Perry took charge of the latter stages including taking 19 off the final over. The Thunder were on the back foot early in the chase as Rachel Priest and the struggling Rachael Haynes fell inside the powerplay and the innings slumped to 6 for 67 with Sarah Aley taking out the key middle-order wickets of Alex Blackwell and Phoebe Litchfield.

Still to come this weekend...

Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Stars, Nuriootpa (Saturday, 2pm local)
Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat, Drummoyne Oval (Saturday, 7.10pm local)

Perth Scorchers v Brisbane Heat, Drummoyne Oval (Sunday, 10am local)
Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Renegades, Drummoyne Oval (Sunday, 2.10pm)