Alana King’s all-round show overpowers Alice Capsey’s five-fer as Scorchers edge Renegades in a low-scoring thriller

Sydney Thunder led by skipper Phoebe Litchfield defeated Brisbane Heat led by skipper Jess Jonassen by 19 runs in the 16th match of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) at the W.A.C.A, Perth. Samantha Bates was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell (4-0-25-4) with the ball for Thunder.

Perth Scorchers led by skipper Sophie Devine were up against Melbourne Renegades led by the stand-in skipper Hayley Matthews in the 17th match of the tournament at the W.A.C.A. Perth. The Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to field first. After being inserted to bat first, Perth Scorchers got off to a horrible start as they lost half their side inside the first nine overs of the innings.

Chloe Ainsworth joined Mikayla Hinkley at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 37-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark. Alice Capsey picked up the wicket of Chloe Ainsworth to provide the 6th breakthrough for Melbourne Renegades. Perth Scorchers were eventually bundled out for 108, with one ball to spare. Mikayla Hinkley (32 off 37 balls), Alana King (23 off 15 balls), Chloe Ainsworth (14 off 16 balls), and Dayalan Hemalatha (12 off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Perth Scorchers.

Alice Capsey (3.5-0-25-5), Hayley Matthews (4-0-15-2), Milly Illingworth (4-0-15-2), Georgia Wareham (4-0-22-0), and Deandra Dottin (3-0-23-1) were the top performers with the ball for Melbourne Renegades. Chasing a target of 109, Melbourne Renegades got off to a poor start as they lost a couple of wickets in successive deliveries in the first over of the run chase.

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Naomi Stalenberg joined Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 21-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to lead some sort of a recovery for their side. Skipper Sophie Devine picked up the wicket of Naomi Stalenberg to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the Scorchers. Skipper Hayley Matthews soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for the Scorchers.

Deandra Dottin joined Georgia Wareham at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 21-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Amy Edgar cleaned up Georgia Wareham to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side. Wicket-keeper batter Nicole Faltum soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 6th breakthrough for Perth Scorchers.

Sarah Coyte joined Deandra Dottin at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 19-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark. Alana King picked up the wicket of Deandra Dottin to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side. Melbourne Renegades were eventually restricted to 106/8 in their quota of 20 overs, falling short of the target by two runs.

Deandra Dottin (40 off 27 balls), Sarah Coyte (20* off 31 balls), and stand-in skipper Hayley Matthews (11 off 16 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Melbourne Renegades. Alana King (4-0-23-3), Chloe Ainsworth (4-0-18-2), skipper Sophie Devine (4-0-22-2), Ebony Hoskin (4-0-16-0), and Amy Edgar (4-0-25-1) were the top performers with the ball for Perth Scorchers.

Alana King was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance. She chipped in with a crucial cameo of 23 off 15 balls and returned with match figures of 4-0-23-3.