The Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes kicked off their Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 10 campaign in match 4, with the Thunder falling 31 runs short in a chase of 141. The two teams will again take center stage at North Sydney Oval, Sydney, in match no. 7, on the 31st of October 2024, at 1:45 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).
Squads:
Sydney Thunder Women
Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Adams, Chamari Athapaththu, Sam Bates, Ella Briscoe, Hannah Darlington, Sienna Eve, Saskia Horley, Shabnim Ismail, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Heather Knight, Anika Learoyd, Claire Moore, Taneale Peschel, Georgia Voll, Tahlia Wilson
Hobart Hurricanes Women
Nicola Carey, Zoe Cooke, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Tabatha Saville, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman, Chloe Tryon, Elyse Villani, Callie Wilson, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Kathryn Bryce, Suzie Bates
Players to watch out:
Tahlia Wilson
The 25-year-old keeper-batter, from 45 WBBL outings, has accumulated 756 runs at an average of 21.00, with the highest score of 83*. Tahlia had a notable season last year, accumulating 323 runs at an average of 29.36 and a strike rate of 118.31 from 13 outings. In a recent T20 competition, she followed up her starts of 12 and 16 with subsequent scores of 81 and 54* and can be relied upon to lead the scoring for her side.
Sammy-Jo Johnson
The 31-year-old all-rounder, from 81 batting innings, has added 893 runs at a strike rate of 113.32 and, from 109 bowling innings, has claimed 107 wickets at an economy rate of 7.01. Sammy-Jo chipped in with 12 wickets from as many outings last season and 87 runs from 8 outings. In this season’s opener, while she departed for 1, she returned economical bowling figures of 1/19 (4) and can be banked upon to deliver the goods.
Elyse Villani
The 35-year-old top-order batter, from 125 WBBL outings, has amassed 3,424 runs at an average of 31.41 and a strike rate of 114.59, with the highest score of 100*. Elyse had another notable season last year, amassing 324 runs from 12 outings, averaging 36.00, and maintaining a strike rate of 116.12. Leading up to this season and in the opener, Elyse has consistently been among the runs and can be counted on to build on her scores.
Heather Graham
The 28-year-old all-rounder in the WBBL, from 101 innings, has posted 1,458 runs at a strike rate of 103.92, while also securing 131 wickets from 120 outings, maintaining an economy rate of 7.05. In the last edition, Heather posted 172 runs from 11 innings and secured 16 wickets from 12 bowling outings. Though Heather departed for 2 in this season’s opener, she returned figures of 3/19 and can be relied upon for improved efforts.
Pitch:
The North Sydney Oval provides a good batting deck, with an average score in the 150s. However, the wicket poses a formidable challenge for batters throughout the game due to its lively nature, especially against pacers.
Weather:
The temperature is forecast to hover around 19°C, with humidity at 75% and moderate winds. If the skies don’t clear, expect rain delays and interruptions, with scattered thundershowers on the radar.
Fantasy playing XI:
Lizelle Lee, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Phoebe Litchfield, Elyse Villani, Chamari Athapaththu, Heather Graham, Chloe Tryon, Nicola Carey, Kathryn Bryce, Shabnim Ismail, Molly Strano
Match details:
Date – October 31, 2024
Time – 1:45 PM IST
Venue – North Sydney Oval, Sydney
Broadcast – The game will be telecast by the Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.
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