YETERDAY’s action in the WBBL was not a positive one for the teams from Melbourne, with the Stars and Renegades both losing, to the Sixers and Strikers respectively.

Historic trip east sees Sixers prevail in nail biter

The Sydney Sixers reversed the result from their last match with the Melbourne Stars, defeating them this time by four-runs in a nail-biter.

In a historic trip out to Melbourne’s outer east, the match really had it all but the Sixers ultimately prevailed. The Sixers a prolific start to their innings, and after they reached the 50-run mark after only eight overs, they were on track to make a big score.

However, the Stars found their groove and managed to slow the Sixers’ scoring dramatically. The Sixers had a little bit of a resurgence at the back end of the innings but were still only made 7/134.

The Stars catching was impressive, with five of the seven wickets they took catches, but Sophie Day was the star with the ball for the Stars, picking up five wickets.  

The hosts’ chase got off to a disastrous start with the bat, losing their first wicket in the first over, and lost their second wicket in the second over. Thankfully for the Stars they had Maia Bouchier and Annabel Sutherland, who got their innings back on track.

However, the rain then struck and caused a significant delay. The two sides managed to get back out there in the nick of time, and the equation for the Stars was that they needed 12 runs off eight more balls.

It went down to the wire, with the Sixers ultimately prevailing. In an extra twist for the Stars, if play had not resumed they would have won as they were ahead on DLS.

Chloe Tryon starred with the ball for the visitors, picking up three wickets in the crucial final over, while Lauren Cheatle picked up two wickets.

Strikers take their time but still get job done

The Adelaide Strikers made it two from two in terms of Melbourne teams losing yesterday, defeating the Melbourne Renegades by six wickets in yesterday’s second match. The Renegades batted first and made 5/148, and the Strikers certainly did not rush to the target, only reaching it with six balls spare.

Things got off to a disastrous start for the Renegades, with their first wicket coming at the end of the first over. Much of the early part of their innings was plagued by a slow run rate, and it was not until the fourth wicket that things started to pick up, where Harmanpreet Kaur and Jess Duffin put on a 96 run partnership. Duffin would go on to make 54, while Kaur made 45.

The Strikers shared the wicket taking duties around, with Georgia Adams, Megan Schutt, Anesu Mushangwe, Danielle Gibson and Amanda-Jade Wellington all picking up a wicket each.

In the chase none of the Strikers’ batters made particularly big scores, but they kept the scoreboard ticking over and they were certainly helped by wayward bowling from the Renegades, who conceded 14 wides. Their top scorer was Bridget Patterson with 36.

Meanwhile for the Renegades Georgia Prestwidge picked up two wickets, while Sara Kennedy and Hayley Matthews each picked up one.