In the sixth match of the Women’s Big Bash League 2024, Melbourne Renegades Women, captained by Sophie Molineux, chose to field first after winning the toss against Brisbane Heat Women, led by Jess Jonassen, at North Sydney Oval in Sydney.
Brisbane Heat Women faced an early setback, losing Grace Harris who smashed a maximum before getting caught and bowled by Molineux in the first over of the match. The batting side struggled, with last match star Charli Knott falling for a mere 1 run after being dismissed by Hayley Matthews. However, Lauren Winfield-Hill provided some stability, scoring 24 runs off 19 balls before being caught by Molineux off Georgia Wareham’s bowling, leaving the Heat at 73 for 2.
Georgia Redmayne, the wicketkeeper-batter, emerged as a beacon of hope, playing a crucial innings of 44 runs off 39 balls, with 7 boundaries to her name. She built a promising partnership with skipper Jess Jonassen, who remained not out on 25 runs, but the pressure mounted as wickets continued to fall. Laura Harris added a brisk 31 runs off just 16 balls, including 2 fours and 3 sixes, before being bowled by Sarah Coyte, leaving the team struggling at 124 for 5.
As the innings progressed, Nadine de Klerk contributed 11 runs but fell to Molineux, while Sianna Ginger and Shikha Pandey added just 1 and 5 runs, respectively. The tailenders couldn’t offer much resistance, and Brisbane Heat Women ultimately ended their innings at 169 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
The standout performance with the ball for Melbourne Renegades came from Hayley Matthews, who claimed 2 wickets for just 21 runs in her 3 overs, Sophie Molineux was also impressive, taking 2 wickets for 35 runs in her 4 overs. Other notable contributions included Deandra Dottin’s spell who took 1 wicket while maintaining an economical rate of 6.75 runs per over in the Renegades innings.
Chasing a target of 170, Melbourne Renegades Women got off to a promising start with Hayley Matthews leading the charge. Matthews played a brisk innings, scoring 35 runs off 23 balls, including 7 boundaries, before she was caught by Laura Harris off Grace Parsons in the sixth over. Shortly after, Alice Capsey fell for a duck, stumped by Georgia Redmayne off Parsons’ bowling, leaving the Renegades at 51 for 2.
Courtney Webb tried to anchor the innings, scoring 25 off 21 balls with a boundary and a six but was run out after a mix-up with Shikha Pandey’s precise throw. Following Webb’s dismissal, the Renegades suffered a middle-order collapse, losing three quick wickets, including skipper Sophie Molineux who was dismissed for a duck by a sharp catch from Laura Harris off Pandey’s bowling.
Despite the fall of wickets, Naomi Stalenberg reignited the chase with an aggressive knock, scoring 38 off 23 balls, including 4 boundaries and a maximum. Stalenberg, along with Nicole Faltum, added some valuable runs, but the required rate continued to climb. Faltum contributed 16 off 12 balls before being bowled by Jess Jonassen, while Stalenberg was eventually run out by Charli Knott, which effectively ended the Renegades’ hopes.
The Melbourne Renegades ultimately fell short, finishing at 141 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs, with Brisbane Heat winning the match by 28 runs. Grace Parsons was the standout bowler for Brisbane Heat, claiming 3 wickets for 22 runs in her 4 overs. Shikha Pandey was also effective, picking up 2 wickets for 27 runs, while Nicola Hancock and Jess Jonassen contributed with a wicket each.
For her all-round performance, Brisbane Heat’s Grace Parsons was awarded the Player of the Match, with figures of 3/22 and a valuable 11* off 7 balls to support her team in both innings.
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