WBBL Season 8 (2022-23): Adelaide Strikers Win Maiden Title by 10 Runs, Deandra Dottin Stars

Adelaide Strikers won their maiden WBBL title on 26 November 2022, defeating Sydney Sixers by 10 runs in the WBBL Season 8 final at North Sydney Oval in Sydney. Strikers posted 147/5; Sixers were restricted to 137 all out in reply. Deandra Dottin — the West Indies right-handed batter and seam bowler — was the match-winner with an unbeaten 52 and two wickets, earning Player of the Match. Ashleigh Gardner (Sydney Sixers) won Player of the Tournament despite playing for the losing side — a reflection of her dominant individual campaign across the full season.

Deandra Dottin: 52* and Two Wickets as Player of the Match

Deandra Dottin's all-round match-winning performance in the WBBL Season 8 final — 52* with the bat and 2 wickets with the ball — confirmed her status as one of the most complete women's cricketers in the world. Dottin, the West Indies captain who has been one of women's cricket's most explosive T20 batters for over a decade (she was the first woman to score two T20I centuries), combined batting composure and bowling impact in the same WBBL final. Her unbeaten 52 anchored Adelaide Strikers' 147/5; her 2 wickets helped restrict Sixers' reply to 137, 10 runs short.

Ashleigh Gardner: Player of the Tournament from the Losing Team

Ashleigh Gardner (Sydney Sixers) was named WBBL Season 8's Player of the Tournament — the second time a player from a losing finalist team won the season's top individual award (the first was an unusual occurrence across the WBBL's history to that point). Gardner, Australia's right-handed batter and off-spinner, has been one of Australian women's cricket's most versatile match-winners across both batting and bowling. Her WBBL Season 8 campaign was exceptional in both disciplines, with her tournament contribution standing above any individual on the winning side. She was also notable as the first former Young Gun Award winner to take out the Player of the Tournament.

WBBL Season 8 in Context

WBBL Season 8 (2022-23) was Adelaide Strikers' first WBBL title, launching a remarkable consecutive run: they would also win Season 9 (2023-24) to become back-to-back champions. The North Sydney Oval final — played in Sydney rather than Adelaide despite Strikers being the championship-winning team — reflected the WBBL's scheduling decisions around venues. Strikers' 10-run victory over one of the WBBL's most decorated franchises (Sydney Sixers have been consistent title contenders across the competition's history) confirmed them as the strongest team across the full 2022-23 season.