Sarah Coyte's remarkable cricket comeback finished with a women's Big Bash medal on Sunday as the Sydney Sixers claimed their second-straight crown with a nine-wicket thumping of Perth at the Adelaide Oval.
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Less than 12 months after giving up the game to fight battles with anorexia and anxiety, Coyte responded favourably to an unexpected phone call from coach Ben Sawyer and played in the last four matches of the Sixers' season, claiming 3-17 in the WBBL final to help skittle the Scorchers for 99.
Big guns Alyssa Healy (41), Ellyse Perry (36 not out) and Ashleigh Gardner (22 not out) then made short work of the 100 runs needed for victory, polishing off the chase with five overs to spare.
It was a special moment for Perry, who hit consecutive boundaries to end the game after she missed last year's decider with a hamstring injury.
But the fairytale finish belonged to Coyte, who took 10 wickets in her four-game spell as a crucial cog in the Sixers' late-season charge to the title.
"I'm not really sure why I agreed to do it [come back] but it has worked out pretty well, I can't complain about it," Coyte said.
"Part of me was just curious to see what I still had left in the tank and if it would rekindle a bit of love for the game. I'm unsure [if it has], to be honest.
"I really like the life I have now. I love my work and going home at the end of the day not having to pack a bag and go to the airport. You never know what the future holds but I'm not putting any ideas in people's heads. I'm not getting anyone's hopes up, even my hopes up.
"I'm just going to take each day as it comes. For now, enjoy the rest of the day with the girls and go back home back to reality."
This was almost the perfect game from the Sixers, who had finished the season on top of the ladder, and who have now played in all three WBBL deciders.
Perth struggled to gain a foothold in the game and produced their worst batting powerplay of the summer (0-22) before a devious Coyte slower ball had Scorchers captain Elyse Villani stumped.
She received a mini send-off from wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, who clapped her gloves together twice over Villani as she lay sprawled on the Adelaide Oval wicket moments after being dismissed.
A steady stream of wickets followed and 99 was simply never going to be enough against the most explosive batting line up in the WBBL.
Healy played several lofted cover drives to chisel away the majority of the score before being stumped herself, allowing Perry and Gardner to finish the job.
Gardner also won the mini battle against her nemesis Katherine Brunt, who has concussed her twice with the short ball this summer. Brunt tried a couple of short balls against Gardner, and was dispatched for six over deep square leg for her efforts.
"It was really nice to be out there today on the park, I was certainly a lot less nervous today than I was last year, I felt like vomiting when I was watching," Perry said.
"It was one of our best games of the season certainly. Our composure was absolutely outstanding, we seem really quite relaxed and focused in the field.
"It probably wasn't a bad toss to lose because I think there was a bit of moisture in the wicket early and it just held up and gave our bowlers enough to bowl at Elyse [Villani] and Nicole [Zolton], who are word-class batters.
"We kept the pressure on them and it showed in the end and we were able to pick up wickets consistently."
