Road to the semifinals: How Scorchers, Strikers, Renegades and Heat made to the top 4 of WBBL 2019
The Rebel Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) is on its last leg. After 56 matches spread across 6 weeks, we have got the final four teams. The four teams who have qualified for the semifinals are Adelaide Strikers, Perth Scorchers, Brisbane Heat, and Melbourne Renegades. Let’s have a look at the journeys of these 4 teams in the tournament.
Brisbane Heat Women:
Brisbane Heat had an average start in the tournament. They won 3 off their first 5 games, but then they won the next 7 games. They lost one to Melbourne Renegades and won the last game of the round-robin stage. They ended the tournament on a high, winning all their games except one in the second half of the league. Brisbane Heat topped the table winning 10 matches and accumulated 20 points. They ranked ahead of Adelaide Strikers due to a higher Net Run Rate.
Standout players: Kiwi leg- spinner Amelia Kerr was one of their key players who constantly bamboozled the opposition batters. Beth Mooney is another standout performer for them who won matches for the Heat single-handedly. Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince and Maddy Green were other standout performers for the Heat.
Adelaide Strikers Women:
Adelaide Strikers had a good start to this season’s WBBL, as they won 4 out of their first 5 matches. They lost the next two, but then were on a winning spree of 6 matches which included the famous super over win against Sydney Thunder. Strikers also lost to Sydney Sixers. They finished 2nd on the table, just behind Heat due to a lower NRR.
Standout players: Sophie Devine played many match-winning knocks for the Strikers. She almost carried the weight of the team in the tournament. Bridget Patterson, Tahlia McGrath, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Suzie Bates, Megan Schutt, Sarah Coyte were other performers for the Strikers.
Perth Scorchers Women:
Perth Scorchers didn’t have the start that they would have hoped for. They won 2 of their initial 5 matches, but this didn’t deter them from winning the next 7 games. They also won 4 of the last 5 games that they played. Winning 9 games in total, Perth Scorchers rank 3rd in the points table.
Standout players: Meg Lanning and Amy Jones scored the bulk of the runs. Captain Lanning was their star performer. She scored her maiden WBBL century in their last league match as well. Heather Graham, Kim Garth, Natalie Sciver were other performers for the Scorchers.
Melbourne Renegades Women:
Melbourne Renegades finish 4th in the table. They too didn’t have the best of the starts, as they lost 4 out of their first 6 games. But they didn’t lose hope as they won the next 3 matches. They lost the next 2 against Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars but finished on a high as they won the last 3 matches. Anna Lanning came to the team in the last few games and made 73 in 49 balls against Melbourne Stars in her debut game for Renegades. Their victory in the last game meant that they took over Sydney Sixers to seal the 4th spot. The two time champions Sixers were eliminated from the finals for the first time in the history of the tournament.
Standout players: The English pair of Danni Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont have been very valuable for the Renegades. Other remarkable players are Jess Duffin, Molly Strano and Georgia Wareham.
Semifinals: Adelaide Strikers will meet Perth Scorchers while Brisbane Heat will take on Melbourne Renegades on December 7 at Brisbane.
The final match will take place on the following day.
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