A sloppy performance in the field and poor showing with the bat has seen the Perth Scorchers crushed at the hands of the Brisbane Heat by 59 runs at Blundstone Arena today.

The Scorchers dropped a number of regulation catches and wicketkeeper Beth Mooney missed the crucial stumping of Heat opener Georgia Redmayne, who would go on to score an unbeaten 59 off 52 deliveries to set up Brisbane’s 5-162 after they were sent into bat.

Perth were never really in the hunt to chase down the runs, with Mooney dismissed first ball by Nicola Hancock (3-19 from three overs) as the Scorchers lost regular wickets on their way to being all out for just 103 runs in 17.2 overs.

All-rounder Heather Graham said the Scorchers were “definitely lacking” in the performance.

“We thought 162 was a pretty good score but we believed we could chase it down, unfortunately, we just found ways to get out and struggled to build momentum,” she said.

“The standard of the players in the WBBL is getting better every year, if you are slightly off your game it can be very difficult to win.”

Scorchers captain Sophie Devine chose to bowl after winning the toss but would have almost instantly regretted the decision as Heat openers Redmayne and Grace Harris (34 off 30) took control, with Teneale Peschel conceding 17 runs in just the second over.

Redmayne and Harris would combine for 68 before Devine (1-37) eventually got the breakthrough in the eighth over, trapping the latter in front.

Brisbane would carry this momentum throughout much of the innings, with Georgia Voll (24 off 17) and captain Jessica Jonassen (19 not out off six) partnering Redmayne to help the Heat to a more than competitive total.

Hancock would be the chief destroyer with the ball for Brisbane, taking the crucial wickets of Mooney, who spooned a simple catch to point on her first delivery, while also getting the key scalp of Devine (18) as the skipper tried to up the ante at the end of the powerplay.

Imports Chamari Athapaththu (11) and Marizanne Kapp (6) both struggled to arrest the Heat’s momentum, with the Scorchers never getting a solid partnership going on their way to their first loss of the season.

Perth will now prepare to take on the Melbourne Renegades at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston on Saturday, before battling the Sydney Thunder the following day.