It’ll be a face-off between Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers for match no. 8 of the ongoing 09 edition of the Women’s Big Bash League. The game is scheduled to be played on the 24th of October, 2023, at 9:00 AM Indian Standard Time (IST) at the Junction Oval, Melbourne.
Squads:
Melbourne Stars – Meg Lanning (C), Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Sophie Day, Sophia Dunkley, Nicole Faltum, Kim Garth, Olivia Henry, Milly Illingworth, Rhys McKenna, Sasha Moloney, Sophie Reid, Annabel Sutherland
Adelaide Strikers – Georgia Adams, Jemma Barsby, Darcie Brown, Danielle Gibsn, Katie Mack, Tahlia McGrath (C), Anesu Mushangwe, Courtney Neale, Annie O’Neil, Bridget Patterson, Maddie Penna, Megan Schutt, Ella Wilson, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Laura Wolvaardt
Players to watch out:
Maia Bouchier
The 24-year-old all-rounder, in 15 Twenty20 International (T20I) outings, has accumulated 205 runs, including the best of 34, at a strike rate of 119.88. Maia is a strokey player, arguably best suited for the shortest format, and has looked in good touch of late. She also had a promising start to her campaign, scoring 25 runs in the season opener, and will be trusted to build on it.
Milly Illingworth
The 18-year-old pacer, scalping 4 wickets in 6 games at the Under-19 World Cup, caught the eyes of many. Days later, Milly produced figures of 4/41 on her Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) debut, and in the lead-up to her W-BBL debut, in this WNCL edition thus far, has picked up 5 wickets in 3 games. She has picked up her maiden W-BBL wicket but has had a couple of expensive outings, however, she will be backed to find her feet.
Bridget Patterson
The 29-year-old keeper-batter warmed up for the W-BBL by scoring successive fifties and a century in the WNCL. However, she hasn’t yet translated her form into the W-BBL, departing with scores of 5 and 8 in the first couple of games. Bridget had a very good 216-run W-BBL season last summer and can draw inspiration, eyeing to regain her batting form with a long season ahead.
Anesu Mushangwe
The 27-year-old leg-spinner, in 21 T20I outings for Zimbabwe, has scalped 33 wickets and has been handy with the bat as well, chipping in with 99 runs from 9 outings. Anesu rose to fame since moving to Australia and featuring in grade and WNCL cricket. She has built on her reputation from the previous W-BBL, picking up prized wickets of Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, and Tammy Beaumont this summer, while finishing on figures of 2/12 (2) against Stars and 1/21 (4) against Renegades.
Pitch:
The center wicket at Junction Oval, Melbourne, provides a well-balanced playing surface, slightly favoring the batters. Despite being good for batting, the average score in the 150s suggests that it’s got enough in it for bowlers as well, especially spinners.
Weather:
With light winds, humidity at 75%, and the temperature forecasted to range in the early 20s (°C), the conditions are pleasant to be at the cricket. The overhead is expected to be partly cloudy, but the chances of rain are minimal.
Fantasy playing XI:
Bridget Patterson, Meg Lanning, Laura Wolvaardt, Katie Mack, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Alice Capsey, Kim Garth, Georgia Adams, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Sophie Day
Match details:
Date – October 24, 2023
Time – 9:00 AM IST
Venue – Junction Oval, Melbourne
Broadcast – The game will be live-streamed on the FanCode app and website.
