Skipper Jess Jonassen and Lucy Hamilton bowl Brisbane Heat to a berth in the finals, with a 9-wicket win against the Stars in a rain-curtailed encounter in match no. 36 of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 10.
The home side Melbourne Renegades led by skipper Sophie Molineux were up against Sydney Thunder led by skipper Phoebe Litchfield at Junction Oval, Melbourne in the 37th match of the WBBL.
The Renegades spinners keep the Thunder batters in check
Sydney Thunder lost the big wicket of Chamari Athapaththu in the 2nd over of the innings after skipper Phoebe Litchfield opted to bat first on winning the toss. Milly Illingworth provided the first breakthrough for the Melbourne Renegades. Georgia Voll soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the Renegades.
Wicket-keeper batter Tahlia Wilson joined skipper Phoebe Litchfield at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 37-run stand to take their side past the 50-run mark. Skipper Phoebe Litchfield took the attack to the opposition with a counter-attacking knock. Georgia Wareham picked up the big scalp of the opposition skipper Phoebe Litchfield (30 off 17 balls) to provide a crucial 3rd breakthrough for her side.
After the departure of their skipper, the Thunder kept losing wickets in regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 133 runs with five balls to spare. The Thunder top-order contributed to 59% of the team’s runs. Wicket-keeper batter Tahlia Wilson (27 off 30 balls), and Sammy-Jo Johnson (21 off 19 balls), were the other performers with the bat for Sydney Thunder.
Skipper Sophie Molineux (4-0-23-4) led from the front with the ball, Georgia Wareham (4-0-20-2), Deandra Dottin (3.1-0-24-2), and Milly Illingworth (3-0-19-1) were the Renegades bowlers responsible for restricting the Sydney Thunder batters.
Hayley Matthews and Sophie Molineux power Renegades to a table-topping victory
Chasing a target of 134, the Renegades cruised through the run chase courtesy of an unbeaten 95-run 2nd wicket stand between Hayley Matthews (60* off 37 balls) and skipper Sophie Molineux (42* off 29 balls). Samantha Bates (3-0-28-1) was the lone wicket-taker with the ball for Sydney Thunder, while Chamari Athapaththu (3-0-13-0) was impressive in her economical spell.
The Renegades skipper Sophie Molineux was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round show. She returned with match figures of 4-0-23-4 with the ball and stayed unbeaten on 42* off 29 balls with the bat to guide her side over the line in the run chase.
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