WBBL04 is up and running and the highlight of the first round of fixtures has to be Lizelle Lee's stonking 102* for the unfancied Melbourne Stars, which took them to victory over the tournament favourites Sydney Sixers. Sixers' 165/7 was a decent effort, but from an opening partnership of 108 between Alyssa Healy (70) and Ellyse Perry (58), they should have done better. New Star player Nicola Hancock picked up 4/22 as the Sixers added just 65 in their last nine overs.
However with Lee in the mood for a big knock it may not have mattered much. She muscled the second over from Lauren Cheatle for 0-4-4-6-0-4, and never really looked back after that. It was fitting that she got to her 100 with her third 6 of her innings, to add to her sixteen 4s - only three of those 19 shots being played on the offside.
However with Lee in the mood for a big knock it may not have mattered much. She muscled the second over from Lauren Cheatle for 0-4-4-6-0-4, and never really looked back after that. It was fitting that she got to her 100 with her third 6 of her innings, to add to her sixteen 4s - only three of those 19 shots being played on the offside.
The other three games went to form, although the depleted Hurricanes (none of their overseas stars were playing) gave Scorchers a bit of a scare as they tried to chase down 144 to win. Meg Lanning opened, but was gone by the end of the third over, and when Elyse Villani (58) paddle swept skipper Maloney to backward square leg, Scorchers were 99/4, with 33 balls to come and 45 still needed. But Lauren Ebsary (40*) and Chloe Piparo (26*) kept their cool and brought the Scorchers home with three balls to spare.
Strikers put 172/7 on the board against Heat, courtesy of 89 from Sophie Devine, and Heat meandered to 136/2 to lose by 36 runs, despite having eight wickets in the shed. Beth Mooney (63*) and Kirby Short (62*) batting for the draw apparently.
Finally Renegades were thumped by Stars after they could only muster 98/8. Seasoned pro Rene Farrell took 3/17 as the Gades' batsmen struggled. In response Thunder never looked to be in trouble, but contrived to lose four wickets, all to WBBL debutante Tayla Vlaeminck (4/29).
Round 1 Scores
Hobart Hurricanes 143/7 lost to Perth Scorchers 147/4
Sydney Sixers 165/7 lost to Melbourne Stars 166/3
Adelaide Strikers 172/7 beat Brisbane Heat 136/2
Melbourne Renegades 98/8 lost to Sydney Thunder 99/4
Round 2 starts with a potential cracker of a game on Friday night between Sixers v Scorchers - the first of four games at the North Sydney Oval. England's Amy Jones should strengthen Scorchers' batting line-up and put some more pressure on behind the stumps. Sixers will be smarting from their opening day loss, and I think their batting line-up will prove too strong for the Scorchers' bowlers.
Saturday sees four more games :-
Canes v Stars - Stars have to travel to Tassie to play both of their games against the Canes at West Park in Burnie, on the north of the island. Canes should have England captain Heather Knight and Indian star Smriti Mandhana in their line-up, and Windies Hayley Matthews, who reportedly broke a toe in training last week, has also been named in the squad. I think it could be honours even over the two games.
Renegades v Strikers - Gades will be very pleased to welcome England's Danni Wyatt to open their innings after struggling with runs in Game 1. But Strikers' bowling could again keep the lid on the Gades' scoring, giving Strikers a second win.
Heat v Scorchers - Scorchers will be targeting this for a win. Heat struggled with bat and ball against the Strikers and they are very likely to do so again. It was interesting that Laura Wolvaardt did not bat in the top four against the Strikers.
Sixers v Thunder - After their big game on Friday night, Sixers are faced with another epic battle on Saturday night against Alex Blackwell's Thunder. Whether beleaguered Indian T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur makes the starting XI for Thunder is a matter for conjecture, but with or without her, Thunder may struggle to win this one.
Three games on Sunday round off the weekend, including the repeat Canes v Stars fixture.
Strikers v Renegades is a repeat of Saturday's fixture, but the teams will be hot-footing it from North Sydney Oval on Saturday to the Eastern Oval in Ballerat for the Sunday game. It's unlikely that the change in venue will produce any different result - a third win for Strikers looks likely.
Thunder v Heat - Final game of an exhausting weekend and Thunder should come out on top, leaving Heat 0-3.
Round 2 Games
Sixers v Scorchers
Hurricanes v Stars
Renegades v Strikers
Heat v Scorchers
Sixers v Thunder
Hurricanes v Stars
Strikers v Renegades
Thunder v Heat
05/XI/18
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