WBBL Review: Sixers yet to lose and Renegades register first victory

Ashleigh Gardner was the star of the show for Sydney Sixers, Rosemary Mair and Sophie Molineux had Sydney Thunder in a tangle and Meg Lanning powered Melbourne Stars to victory over Perth Scorchers in a fascinating day of WBBL action

Sydney Sixers march on

The only thing to defeat Sydney Sixers so far in WBBL 06 is the weather. 

Ellyse Perry and her team have now won four of their opening six matches this year, with two washouts denying them a perfect record. 

Australia international Ashleigh Gardner was the star of the show at North Sydney Oval, blasting 53 off 35 balls – striking four fours and three sixes batting at three. She then backed up the performance with the ball, taking two wickets during her allocation. At one point, she was on a hat-trick. 

Perry and international teammate Alyssa Healy put on 41 for the first wicket – meaning that they have put on over 2,500 runs together at the top of the order, making them the most successful opening partnership in WBBL history. Beth Mooney and Kirby Short of Brisbane Heat are the next best with 1,085.

Stella Campbell and Hayley Silver-Holmes, who are still both in their teens, were also in the wickets. The latter got the two big scalps of Hayley Matthews and South Africa’s Chloe Tryon. Tryon’s compatriot Dane van Niekirk also picked up a wicket. 

The nine-run victory is Sixers’ smallest margin of victory so far in the campaign. Hobart did well to get to 140 for 8, chasing 150 for victory. Encouraging performances from Nicola Carey, Hayley Matthews and Naomi Stalenberg means that Hurricanes can take some positives, having only won one match so far. 

_{Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy are the most successful opening partnership in WBBL history}

Thunder’s run comes to an end 

In contrast to Sixers’ excellent start, Trevor Griffin’s Sydney Thunder suffered their first defeat of the campaign at the hands of Melbourne Renegades who, in turn, picked up their first win.

Two runs was the margin of victory for Renegades and the result means that they well and truly remain in the fight for a top-four finish, with teams 4th-8th only separated by net run-rate after six matches.

Despite losing, it was Thunder’s Sammy-Jo Johnson who was player of the match. Johnson took four for 26 in her four overs as Renegades all out for 110.

With only 110 runs to play with – Rosemary Mair and Sophie Molineux had Thunder’s top order in a bit of a tangle – restricting them to 34 for 4 at the end of the ninth over. Despite wickets falling, Thunder continued to bat positively and managed to reach 108 for 7 in their 20 overs – including 16 off the last. 

Georgia Wareham went at nearly six an over with the ball, but she managed to take a wicket and inflict a sensational run-out to remove Thunder skipper Rachael Haynes for two. A flat throw from mid-wicket allowed Josephine Dooley to whip the bails off. 

_{Melbourne Renegades picked up their first win of the competition with victory over Sydney Thunder}

There’s no stopping Laura Wolvaardt 

Laura Wolvaardt showed once again why she is world class. Hitting 46 off 39 balls, she backed up her status as the competition’s top run-scorer. There were only three boundaries in her knock – one four and two sixes. 

In the repeat of last year’s final, Wolvaardt was overshadowed by Katie Mack. The 27-year-old opener bludgeoned 50 off 37 balls. Incredibly, 32 of her runs came in fours as Adelaide Strikers set a formidable total of 153 for 8. Brisbane took five wickets in the final three overs, showing that they can put a squeeze on when in the right form. 

Reigning champions, Brisbane Heat, are now without a win since the opening match of the tournament but still remain only one point off a semi-final place. A score of 135 for 8 in 20 overs shows that they have what it takes to be competitive. 

However, it was 65 off 47 balls from Georgia Redmayne that ensured Brisbane reached the target. The next best score was Maddy Green’s 25 whilst Grace Harris (10) was the only other batter to reach double figures. 

Katie Mack outperformed Laura Wolvaardt as Adelaide Strikers defeated Brisbane Heat

Lanning leads from the front as Melbourne Stars dominate 

By now everyone knows that Meg Lanning is a threat, and whenever you score 118 – as Perth Scorchers managed batting first - be prepared for the game to be over quickly. 

Lanning’s eyes lit up from the start and she wasted little time with rain in the air at North Sydney Oval. An unbeaten 51 off 38 balls with seven fours and one huge six was enough to see her side over the line. Who knows what she would’ve got if the target was bigger – she was still going up through the gears as the game concluded in the 16th over. 

England’s Nat Sciver impressed too, racing to 33 off 26 balls – adding to her wickets in the first innings. Unsurprisingly, her efforts won her player of the match. 

Scorchers have only won once in the tournament and today’s performance showed why. Only one batter made more than 20 and partnerships were few and far between. Running between the wickets seems to be an issue too, with four run outs in the innings. 

The batting performance dejected the whole team in the field as bowlers missed their lengths and failed to apply pressure. The wicket of Elyse Villani in the third over should have led to more but they’ll dust themselves down and go again against Sydney Sixers.