In the 24th match of the Women’s Big Bash League, Perth Scorchers thrashed Sydney Thunder by a massive 74-run victory. Chloe Ainsworth was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell (4-0-15-2) with the ball.
Hobart Hurricanes led by skipper Elyse Villani were up against the Adelaide Strikers led by skipper Tahlia McGrath at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart in the 25th match of the tournament.
Lizelle Lee’s back-to-back centuries power Hobart Hurricanes to 191/2
Adelaide Strikers skipper Tahlia McGrath won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, the Hobart Hurricanes got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Danielle Wyatt-Hodge in the first over of the innings, with Megan Schutt providing the first breakthrough for the Strikers.
Nicola Carey joined wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee at the crease and the duo stitched a massive 133-run stand for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 140-run mark. Lizelle Lee was found short of her crease at the non-striker end, during the bowler’s follow through to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the Strikers. However, she did the damage before being dismissed by cruising to another swashbuckling century, 103 off 59 balls, following her record-breaking 150* off 75 balls against the Perth Scorchers.
Lizelle also equaled the record for the most number of centuries (5) in the history of the WBBL alongside Alyssa Healy (5). It was also the first instance when a batter scored 2 consecutive centuries in the WBBL. The Lizelle-Nicola partnership set a solid platform for a blockbuster finish to the Hurricanes innings. Nicola Carey stepped on as the aggressor alongside skipper Elyse Villani to power the Hurricanes to 191/2 in their quota of 20 overs.
Lizelle Lee (103 off 59), Nicola Carey (64* off 46 balls), and skipper Elyse Villani (23* off 14 balls) were the other top performers with the bat for the Hobart Hurricanes. Megan Schutt (4-0-21-1) and Anesu Mushangwe (4-0-34-0) were the top performers with the ball for Adelaide Strikers.
Twin half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Laura Wolvaardt in vain as Strikers fall 28 runs short of the target
Chasing a target of 192, the Adelaide Strikers openers Katie Mack and Smriti Mandhana got their side off to a flying start with a 67-run opening partnership, scoring at a rate of over 9 runs an over. Lauren Smith picked up the wicket of Smriti Mandhana to provide the much-needed breakthrough for the Hobart Hurricanes. She departed after scoring a brisk half-century (51 off 32 balls), her first for Adelaide Strikers in the WBBL.
The Strikers lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring the Hurricanes back into the game. Wicket-keeper batter Bridget Patterson joined Laura Wolvaardt at the crease and the duo stitched an unbeaten 70-run 4th wicket partnership but failed to get their side over the line in the run chase, restricted to 163/3 in their quota of 20 overs, falling 28 runs short of the target.
Laura Wolvaardt (63* off 40 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Bridget Patterson (23* off 20 balls) were the other top performers alongside Smriti Mandhana (51 off 32 balls) for the Adelaide Strikers with the bat. Amy Smith (4-0-16-1), Lauren Smith (4-0-33-1), and Molly Strano (4-0-37-1) were the wicket-takers for Hobart Hurricanes.
Wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational match-winning century of 103 off 59 balls, her 2nd consecutive century in the Women’s Big Bash League.
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