WBBL04 - Heat surprise Sixers to win WBBL04

After two amazing, cliff-hanger semi-finals, there was a fear that the final of this year's WBBL04 competition, might be a let-down. It was not.

The Sydney Sixers were clear favourites with the undoubted Player of the Tournament, Ellyse Perry, at the heart of their team, but with an amazing supporting cast of Healy, Gardner, Burns, van Niekerk and Kapp, in the wings.

As for the Heat they have relied almost exclusively on local talent - much of it unsung. Sure they had Aussie contracted players Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Delissa Kimmince, but under skipper Kirby Short, it was players such as the Harris sisters, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Josie Dooley, Jemma Barsby and Haidee Birkett (remember the semi-final catch?) that have won Heat many games this year. Overseas players Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus have simply been passengers, with batsman Wolvaardt never batting above 8 (she has scored just 67 runs in 14 appearances), and Luus not even making the 11 for Heat's last four games of the season.

It seemed inevitable then that the star-studded Sixers would ride roughshod over the plucky Heat. They won the toss and opted to bat. The idea being to put so many runs on the board that Heat simply melted in the ...well...the heat. But it wasn't to be that way.

The disciplined Heat bowlers kept the Sixers top order under pressure and despite starts removed Healy, Gardner and Perry before they could cut loose and then stifled the middle order, until Dane van Niekerk smashed 32* off 15 balls, with 33 runs coming from the last three overs to take Sixers to a par 131/7.

Gung-ho Heat batsmen Grace Harris and Johnson failed to make an impact, as Heat set about their task, but Mooney and Short added 84 for the third wicket in 11.3 overs to set up what looked like an easy victory, provided they held their nerve. When both were out in the same 15th over from van Niekerk it looked like they were going to throw it away. When Jonassen and Dooley went too it seemed almost inevitable. But nine off five balls from Wolvaardt (perhaps the most important nine runs she has ever scored?) left Heat needing just five off the last over. A single taken off the first ball and then Laura Harris swotted the second ball of Kapp's over to the boundary for a famous, and immensely popular victory.

The closeness of the last three games of the season; the powerful and elegant batting that has been seen throughout the tournament; the emergence of more young Aussie talent; the free-to-air television coverage and the growing crowd numbers, bode well for next year's earlier standalone competition. People are looking forward to it already!!

Martin Davies
26/I/19

WBBL04 - Semi-finals await

The four teams who will be fighting it out on Saturday for a place in the WBBL04 final will be...

Sixers, Thunder, Heat and Renegades

The Scorchers lost the first of their two games at the weekend to Strikers, and with Renegades beating Hurricanes (albeit only just), it meant it was Renegades that joined the other three in the semi-finals. Scorchers did beat Strikers the following day, but it was too little too late. Here is how the final table looked.

Final WBBL04 Ladder positions

This means that the semi-finals this Saturday will be

Thunder v Heat

followed by 

Sixers v Renegades

Sixers and Thunder are both hot favourites to make it through to the final, but Heat beat Thunder in their last match of the season, chasing down Thunder's 171/7 in the final over, thanks to a maiden WBBL04 century for Beth Mooney (102). It was the sixth century of WBBL04. There had only been five in the previous three years of the tournament. If Mooney could put on a repeat performance in the semi-final Heat could just upset the Sydney franchise.

Sixers too lost their last game, being bowled out by Stars for just 92. Ellyse Perry has, of course, been in sparkling form with the bat for Sixers, but it has meant that their middle order and below have had precious little time at the crease. If the Renegades were to winkle out Perry, Healy and Gardner cheaply then they could repeat Stars' performance with the ball. Their bowlers are good enough to do it, but whether they could then hold their nerve with the bat is a slightly different matter.

Martin Davies
14/I/19

WBBL04 - Sixers & Thunder make semis

After the penultimate weekend of WBBL04 games the two Sydney franchises - Sixers and Thunder - can start to plan for semi-final action, as they have now qualified.

This weekend's results were :-

Thunder 92/3 v Stars when match was abandoned
Heat 160/7 beat Strikers 117/7
Sixers 183/2 beat Scorchers 151ao
Thunder 122/6 beat Stars 117/9
Renegades 143/3 beat Heat 118ao

Which means that this is how the ladder looks right now...

WBBL04 - 6th January 2018

The fight for the other two semi-final places is effectively between Heat, Renegades and Scorchers (technically Stars could still make it if they won their last two games, and Renegades and Scorchers both lost all theirs, but even then it would come down to NRR).

Heat have two games to play against Stars and Thunder.
Renegades have three games to play against Thunder, Hurricanes and Sixers.
Scorchers have two games to play, both against Strikers. If Scorchers can win both their games then Heat and Renegades will have to notch up two wins of their own to stop them from qualifying.

The order in which the games are played could prove to be vital. On Tuesday Renegades play Thunder. Should they win, and it will be a tough ask, then they will pour the pressure onto Heat, who play Stars on Thursday. A win for Heat would in turn add to the pressure on Scorchers. All Scorchers can do this week is sit back and watch, as they do not play their first game against Strikers, in Alice Springs, until Saturday. Strikers will already have played Hurricanes twice earlier in the week, and with the pressure off, and with Scorchers almost certainly without Elyse Villani and Nicole Bolton again for both games, the two wins Scorchers will probably need, could prove elusive, but Strikers will have had to play four games in six days.

The team that finishes top will host the two semi-finals, so Sixers and Thunder will be looking to win their last two games. Sixers take on Renegades and then Stars next weekend; while Thunder have Renegades and Heat to round off their league season. Thunder however will be without Harmanpreet Kaur for that final game against Heat, as she is required to return to India.

The final few games to be played are :-
Tuesday
Thunder v Renegades
Strikers v Hurricanes
Wednesday
Strikers v Hurricanes again
Thursday
Heat v Stars
Saturday
Strikers v Scorchers
Renegades v Hurricanes
Heat v Thunder
Sunday
Scorchers v Strikers
Renegades v Sixers
Monday
Stars v Sixers

MD
06/I/19

WBBL04 - The Christmas to New Year Run

On Christmas Eve we left the WBBL04 ladder looking like this

24/12/18

Since then there have been three more games, which have gone like this :-

Renegades 110/8 lost to Sixers 111/3

Scorchers 136/5 lost to Heat 139/5

Sixers 206/1 beat Strikers 132 ao

Which means the table now looks like this

28/12/18

Sixers two wins have put them back to the top of the league, with Alyssa Healy having great fun at the expense of both Renegades and Strikers. She hit an unbeaten 70 as Sixers chased down Renegades below par 110/8 in just 14.1 overs, and then thrashed her second WBBL century, hitting 112* off the beleaguered Strikers attack as Sixers posted the second highest score in WBBL history - 206/1.

In between those two games Scorchers failed to build on Meg Lanning's 70, finishing on a disappointing 136/5, which Heat surpassed, without too many alarms, albeit in the 20th over. It means Heat have now won 5/8 and are looking good for a semi-final spot. Scorchers sit precariously poised on 4/9.

We reckon that 15/16 points will be enough to make sure of a spot in those semis, which puts Sixers just one win away from that goal, Thunder two wins and Heat three. With Heat having two games to play against bottom of the table Hurricanes before New Year they look in good shape.

Games coming up in the next couple of days are :-
Scorchers take on Thunder twice in Perth.
Renegades v Stars
Hurricanes entertain Heat twice at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston, and there is a
Strikers v Sixers rematch, but at the Adelaide Oval, rather than at the postage stamp that is Hurstville Oval.

Thunder will be looking to leapfrog Sixers back to the top of the ladder, with two wins in Perth effectively securing their passage to the semis, and possibly ending Scorchers chances of making the next stage of the competition. If Scorchers were to lose both games they would then be 4/11, with just three games to play - Strikers twice, and Sixers.

Heat could take a massive step towards the semis with two wins over Canes, which you would have to say they should achieve. Canes season is a write-off. Despite some close games, they have simply been unable to defend any total their batting line-up have managed to put on the board.

Both Renegades and Stars will know that they have to win their match to stay in with a shout of the semis. Renegades only have 5 points to Stars 8, but they have played a game less. A win keeps them in with a squeak, and they play Stars again on New Year's Day. Should they win that one too, then they will be above Stars. As for Stars a win will keep them hustling for that third/fourth spot with Heat and Scorchers.

After Stars, Renegades remaining fixtures are - Stars (again), Hurricanes twice, Heat, Thunder and Sixers. But Stars have a tougher run in to the finish line, they play - Renegades (again), Thunder twice, Heat and Sixers. The outcome of the two clashes between Gades v Stars in the next few days could define their seasons.

WBBL04 is getting to the business end of things.

Martin Davies
28/XII/18

WBBL04 - Christmas Wrap Up

Here's how the table looks as the teams head into Christmas...

In the six games played pre-Christmas weekend each one of the teams involved picked up one win, with each of the back-to-back games being shared by each team. All of Saturday's results being reversed on Sunday. Here are the scores

Strikers 144/7 lost to Stars 145/6
Sixers 166/3 beat Heat 155/7
Scorchers 122/6 lost to Renegades 123/6
Strikers 172/3 beat Stars 153/9
Heat 154/7 beat Sixers 88ao
Scorchers 172/2 beat Renegades 157/6

Highlights were :-

• Another century for Ellyse Perry. She hit the last two balls of the Sixers' first innings against Heat for 6 and 4 to reach 103*, as Sixers took 43 runs off the last two overs to post 166/3, too many for Heat (but only just). Perry moved from 62 to 103 in those last 12 balls! Heat got their revenge the next day as they posted 154/7 and then bowled Sixers out for just 88! Sammy-Jo Johnson claiming 3/23.
• Having lost to Stars on Saturday Strikers kept their season alive with a win against them on Sunday, thanks almost entirely to Sophie Devine. First she hit 95 off 60 balls and then she took 5/41 as Stars fell 19 runs short.
• Renegades too picked up a vital win on Saturday as they restricted Scorchers to just 122/6 and then chased them down with plenty of balls to spare, but on Sunday Meg Lanning 75 and Elyse Villani 62 put on 143 for the first Scorchers' wicket, which left Gades with too many to chase, although they did make it to with 15. 

On Christmas Eve Hurricanes (135 all out) slipped to their seventh defeat in eight games, as Thunder strolled past them with just four wickets down, and to the top of the league, thanks to 68* from Rachel Haynes.

The girls are all back in action again this week, starting with Scorchers v Heat on Boxing Day, which is followed by another eight games before the end of 2018. More on all that anon, but for now

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Martin Davies
24/XII/18

WBBL04 - Round-Up heading into the Christmas Weekend

Four midweek games have seen Scorchers steal a win against the luckless Canes; Heat obliterate Stars; Thunder confirm their spot at the top of the ladder; and Stars come back, dust themselves off and beat Strikers, who can't buy a win at the moment.

It also saw a WBBL record 42 ball 100 for Grace Harris (Heat) as she dispatched Stars' bowlers to all parts of the Gabba, hitting six 6s and thirteen 4s. Chasing 133 to win Heat had levelled the scores, with Harris facing on 95. She needed a 6 to get to her 100, and her partner Beth Mooney made sure she stayed on strike even though the winning run could have been taken. Harris deposited the fifth ball of the eleventh over deep over long on to record the fastest 100 in WBBL history and the second fastest of all-time in women's cricket.

Here are the results
Hurricanes 173/7 v Scorchers 173/6 - Super Over - Scorchers 16/0 beat Canes 10/2
Stars 132/7 lost to Heat 138/0
Hurricanes 153/9 lost to Thunder 156/4

Strikers 144/7 lost to Stars 145/6

Current table (21/12/18)

Over the next three days another six games will be played.

Sixers take on Heat twice, first at the SCG and then Hurstville.
Scorchers play Renegades twice also, both at the WACA.
Strikers v Stars and Thunder v Hurricanes (on Monday) round off the long weekend.

Heat (and Grace Harris in particular) will be confident going into their back-to-back games with Sixers, even though Sixers have been in fine form. But T20 is a fickle format, so Heat cannot rely on Harris repeating her Stars' heroics. Sixers just look too powerful for the Queenslanders.
The Scorchers/Renegades match-ups will be very intriguing. News is that Meg Lanning is fit and ready to go, which will definitely help their cause. Scorchers have won 3/6, but their form has been erratic, to say the least. As for Renegades they have won just 1/4, against Strikers, losing to Thunder and Heat. On paper Scorchers should walk both games, but Gades might just pip them in one (or maybe even two) if their young bowlers come to the party.

The Strikers v Stars rematch is likely to be another tight affair. Strikers have to win if they are to salvage anything from this season. Meanwhile Stars will be beginning to believe they can make it to the finals. Who can handle that added pressure better?

Thunder just looked too strong for Canes in their Friday night game and it is difficult to see the result being any different second time around. With just one win from seven games Canes are almost dead and buried. Another loss might be the last nail in their WBBL04 coffin.

Martin Davies
22/XII/18

WBBL04 - R3 Review & Midweek Preview

It was a good weekend for both Sixers and Thunder, as they both returned home to Sydney with four more points under their belts from two wins each, and a share in the lead at the top of the ladder. Respectively they beat Hurricanes and Strikers twice, to leave Canes and Strikers with just one win to their name so far. In the other back-to-back games Stars and Scorchers shared the points in two low scoring encounters, and finally Heat moved up to 4th in the league with a comfortable, if rather damp, win over Renegades.

Here are the scores
Stars 124/9 lost to Scorchers 125/2 

Strikers 132 ao lost to Thunder 134/4

Sixers 155/3 beat Hurricanes 133/5

Scorchers 90/7 lost to Stars 91/6
Strikers 145/5 lost to Thunder 146/5

Sixers 158/3 beat Hurricanes 141 ao

Heat 174/8 beat Renegades 153/7

Top performances with the bat came from...
Suzie Bates 79*
Ash Gardner 79*
Rachel Priest 58*

Stafanie Taylor 55

Harmanpreet Kaur 52*

Ellyse Vilanni 52*

Heather Knight 51*

And with the ball...
Molly Strano 4/21
Rene Farrell 3/12

Kristen Beams 3/13
Maisy Gibson 3/23

In the build-up to Christmas there are four midweek games this week...

Hurricanes v Scorchers on Tuesday, with both teams desperate for a win. Scorchers are once again without Meg Lanning, and if Canes (still without Hayley Matthews) can keep the momentum they had against table-topping Sixers, they might just pull off a big win against a rather deflated Scorchers.

On Wednesday 4th place Heat take on 3rd place Stars, before the Heat boys get a turn at playing women's cricket. Both teams come into the game on the back of wins and it should be a tight match. Too close to call.

On Friday it is Thunder v Hurricanes and Strikers v Stars. Thunder are likely to prove too strong for Canes' bowling attack and should cement their place at the top of the ladder. Strikers will be keen to kickstart their season, which has fallen a bit flat after an opening weekend win over Heat. If they are to finish in the top four this is the sort of game they must win. A lot could depend on how Stars fared two days earlier (they got steamrollered by Grace Harris!!).

These games will be followed by another five games over the pre-Christmas weekend, but we'll get to those on Saturday morning, after the dust has settled from these midweek fixtures.

Martin Davies
17/XII/18

WBBL04 - R3 Preview

The opening games of WBBL04 are now well and truly behind us, and we are now getting into the meat of the competition. This is how the table looks at the moment 

and there are seven more games this weekend (see below), to be followed by another 10 games before Christmas - 29 of the 56 league games will then have been played.

This weekend's games
Stars v Scorchers

Strikers v Thunder

Hurricanes v Sixers

Stars v Scorchers

Thunder v Strikers

Hurricanes v Sixers

Renegades v Heat

After a disastrous opening round loss to the unfancied Stars, Sixers got their WBBL04 on track with convincing wins over much more fancied opponents, Scorchers and Thunder, in R2. R3 sees them facing Hurricanes twice at their home at the Blundstone Arena. Canes, probably without Hayley Matthews (now confirmed), are likely to struggle to contain Sixers' batting line-up, and there could be some big scores on the cards. Sixers are likely to take all four points.

In another double-header Stars entertain the Scorchers twice at home at Casey Fields. Scorchers, currently bottom of the ladder, would have been desperate to have Meg Lanning back in their line-up, after she missed the last two games with a back niggle, but she is out again this weekend too. Stars are flying high with a 2/3 record so far, but Scorchers might just clip their wings for them this weekend. Both these games are likely to be high scoring, with one stand-out performance swaying it one way or the other.

The third double-header is an intriguing back-to-back between Strikers and Thunder, with both sides away from home at the Blundstone Arena. Both these games could go right to the wire, and I wouldn't be surprised if honours were even after the two games have been played. A big innings from Harmanpreet Kaur (Thunder) or Sophie Devine (Strikers) could well be the deciding factor.

And finally Gades take on Heat at Geelong, south west of Melbourne. I'm backing Danni Wyatt and Sophie Molineux and the rest of the girls in red to take the two points to keep themselves in contention at the top of the table. Gades true status in the competition may be shown next week when they have back-to-back games with Scorchers at the WACA. 

Martin Davies
12/XII/18

WBBL04 - R2 Review

Here are the results from the second week of WBBL04 fixtures, which saw Sydney Sixers pick up two wins out of two to take them to the top of the ladder, but only on NRR.

Scorchers 167/9 lost to Sixers 171/4

Hurricanes 158/6 lost to Stars 159/5

Strikers 153/7 lost to Renegades 154/4

Scorchers 103/8 lost to Heat 104/3
Sixers 168/4 beat Thunder 132/7

Hurricanes 196/6 beat Stars 124 ao

Renegades 83/4 (14.3) v Strikers 27/2 (4.3) - no result

Thunder 192/4 beat Heat 164 ao

With Sixers on four points are Sydney Thunder, who lost to Sixers, but then beat Heat; and Melbourne Stars, who won one and lost one against Hobart Hurricanes.
Strikers and Renegades have 3 points after Gades beat Strikers off the last ball on Saturday, and Sunday's return game was abandoned with just three balls needed for the game to have been completed.
The table is completed by Canes, who picked up their first win in their second encounter with the Stars; Heat, who beat the Scorchers and then lost to the Thunder; and the Scorchers themselves - all on 2 points - who got nothing from the weekend.

The weekend really belonged to Sixers, and to Ellyse Perry in particular. She scored her maiden T20 ton as Sixers easily chased down Scorchers 167/9 with just four wickets down on Friday night. Her 102* came off 59 balls, the last one of which she struck for 4 to win the game. Rested on Saturday Sixers came out again on Sunday against Thunder with Perry again at the fore, scoring 74*, as Sixers posted 168/4. For a while even Perry had to play second fiddle to Erin Burns, who was imperious in hitting 44 off 22 balls. Thunder's Rene Farrell slotted into second place on the most runs conceded list with 0/50 off her 4 overs. Thunder never really recovered from being 35/4 and despite Harmanpreet Kaur's 45, they finished 36 runs short.

After a late night on Friday Scorchers performed poorly with the bat against Heat in their Saturday outing, posting just 103/8 in their 20 overs, a total which they never looked like defending. They were without Meg Lanning for both games, who had a back twinge, but it is their bowling that continues to look thin.

Another team thin on bowling resources - Canes - contrived to lose to Stars on Saturday, despite scoring 158/6, courtesy of a fine 82* from Heather Knight. They had Stars 23/4 at the end of the powerplay, and still needing 100 from the last 10 overs, but some poor fielding allowed Erin Osborne (67) and Mignon du Preez (59*) the opportunity to set up a Star's win by five wickets. In the reverse fixture on Sunday Canes put a massive 196/6 (the third highest ever WBBL team score) with Smriti Mandhana top-scoring with a rather fortuitous 69. It was Stars' turn to look ordinary in the field, and they never looked like getting close in the run chase.

The best game of the weekend was the first encounter between Renegades v Strikers. Suzie Bates (54), Sophie Devine (39) and Tahlia McGrath (33) set up the Strikers' innings of 153/7, and when they removed Danni Wyatt, for a well-made 62, Gades were 92/4 and looked unlikely to get home. But Claire Koski (39*) and Erica Kershaw (30*) got the game to last over with eight still needed to win. Sophie Devine restricted them to four singles from the first five balls, but Koski stepped across her stumps and swept the last ball for 4 to win the game for the Gades. The return fixture the next day looked to be heading to an equally tight finish, before rain intervened for the second time with Strikers 27/2 after 4.3 overs, chasing 78 off 11 overs. The Strikers would have needed six more runs at the end of the 5th over to have won the game on DLS.

The final game of the weekend saw Thunder pile on 192/4 against Heat with the top five Thunder batsmen all enjoying themselves. Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored with 52 off 26 balls. Grace Harris muscled her way to 54 off 28 balls in reply including five 6s, but Heat still finished 28 runs short, bowled out in the 19th over.

Round 3 of WBBL04 is next weekend with seven more fixtures, including four being played in Hobert. The games are :-

Stars v Scorchers

Strikers v Thunder

Hurricanes v Sixers

Stars v Scorchers

Thunder v Strikers

Hurricanes v Sixers

Renegades v Heat

We'll preview all the games later in the week.

Martin Davies
09/XII/18

WBBL04 - R1 Review & R2 Preview

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. 

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

Martin Davies
05/XI/18

WBBL04 - Preview & Round One Games

The fourth edition of the Women's Big Bash League (hence WBBL04) kicks off this weekend with all eight teams in action at the CitiPower Centre at the Junction Oval in St Kilda - the home of both the Melbourne Stars and the Melbourne Renegades.

The opening match-ups are :-

Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes

Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Stars

Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat

Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Thunder

Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes

Scorchers made it to the final last year on the back of major batting contributions from openers Ellyse Villani and Nicole Bolton, and 23 wickets from England's Katherine Brunt. Villani and Bolton return, but Brunt does not, which leaves a gaping hole in the Scorchers bowling line-up. Not only did Brunt take the most wickets (alongside Sixers' Sarah Aley), but she also had a staggering economy rate of just 4.83 runs per over bowled. Only Sixers' Marizanne Kapp (12 wickets) had a better economy rate in WBBL03.
The Scorchers have recruited England's Kate Cross to try and fill the hole, and will be looking to medium pacers Piepa Cleary and Heather Graham to step up. It will be a tough ask.
In addition to Villani and Bolton, the Scorchers will also have the services of Aussie captain Meg Lanning, who signed for the franchise last year, but was unable to play due to her shoulder injury. Lanning was the leading run scorer in both WBBL01 and WBBL02 with over 500 runs. Her presence in the Scorchers line-up will send fear through all their opponents, and her wicket will be the most prized. 

Last year Scorchers could also call on the services of England's Nat Sciver, but she will not return for WBBL04. This year they have turned to England keeper and number 3 bat Amy Jones. After her showing in the recent Women's T20 World Cup it looks like a shrewd signing, both from a batting and a keeping point of view. Scorchers have to be one of the favourites for the trophy, despite their thin bowling resources.

Hurricanes finished plum last last year, winning just two of their 14 games. Overseas recruits Veda Krishnamurthy and Lauren Winfield failed to provide the team with the volume of runs they needed and they do not return. Windies vice-skipper Hayley Matthews does, and she will hope for a better return than last year with both bat and ball. In addition former Cane Heather Knight returns, and her Western Storm teammate, Smriti Mandhana, is an exciting addition to the batting line-up. Mandhana was outrageously good in the 2018 KSL in England, and showed a little of what she can do with her 83 against Australia in India's defeat of the ultimate champions in the group stage game of the Women's T20 World Cup. Mandhana tends to ride her luck, favouring the aerial root to the boundary, but, on her day, she is unstoppable.
Recruiting principally three international batsmen - both Knight and Matthews will bowl some off-spin too - leaves the Canes rather short on bowling, particularly having lost last year's leading wicket-taker Nicola Hancock to the Melbourne Stars. Fazackerley, Pyke, Fryett and Hepburn took just 17 wickets between them last year, with all of them getting some tap on the way. Expect Canes games to be run-fests - some they'll win and some they won't.

For this opening encounter the Canes are without both Heather Knight and Smriti Mandhana, who have yet to arrive in Australia, which is going to make their task even harder. I'd expect the Scorchers to win at a canter.

Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Stars 

Sixers were last year's champions and with pretty much the same squad as last year they will be tough to beat again. They have Aussies Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner, alongside married Saffers Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk. Sarah Aley capitalised on Kapp's parsimonious bowling last year by coming on after the powerplay and taking a hat full of wickets and Erin Burns showed that she is no mug with the bat. Add to this former Kiwi batsman Sara McGlashan, and Aussie left-armer seamer Lauren Cheatle, and you can see that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with yet again. Another shot at the title looks very likely for the Sixers.

Stars were fairly pitiful last year, and with few changes in personnel WBBL04 may not be any better for them. Overseas players Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez and Georgia Elwiss all return, despite not doing anything very noteable last year. Lee and du Preez showed no great upturn in form in the T20 World Cup, and Elwiss was not even selected for the England squad. Let's not forget of course that Lee did score a magnificent 100 in the KSL final last September, but since then she has had a pretty lean time of it. When she is a hit, she is a big hit, but far too often she is a miss.
As for the bowling side of things spinners Erin Osborne and Alana King were the top wicket-takers last year and they will be required to perform as well, if not better, this year. Elwiss managed only seven wickets in more than 35 overs of seam, but she may be helped this year with the recruitment of Canes' Nicola Hancock and former Aussie Holly Ferling from Brisbane Heat. Hancock is steady, but Ferling has consistently disappointed, and cannot even get into the Queensland Fire WNCL team at the moment. They won't frighten too many batting line-ups and 2018 looks like being another tough year for the Stars.

Sixers are likely to open their WBBL04 account with a very comfortable win. If they bat first then who would rule out an Alyssa Healy 100 on the opening day of the tournament?

Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat

Strikers will have been disappointed last year to have won only eight of their 14 league games, and then to have crashed out to the Sixers in the semi-final played at their home ground in Adelaide. That day none of the top order, with the exception of Tammy Beaumont, came to the party. Beaumont does not return this year, but Kiwis Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine do, and a lot will rest on their very broad shoulders, and Tahlia McGrath will have to prove her worth with both bat and ball.
Megan Schutt and new recruit,  England off-spinner Dani Hazell, will lead the bowling attack, alongside leggie Amanda Jade Wellington, plus McGrath and Devine, with a sprinkling of Bates, when she feels like it, which seems to be less and less often.
On paper the Strikers look a decent team, but they did so last year and didn't really hit the heights. It could be another hit and miss season for them.

Heat have three of the current Aussie T20 squad in Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince and Beth Mooney as the backbone of their squad, but the recruitment of South Africans Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus seems a bit wide of the T20 mark. Wolvaardt has found it tough to adapt her classical, methodical batting style to T20 cricket, and had no great success in the six games she played for Heat last season. Sune Luus has had no great form with the ball (legspinner) or the bat over the last couple of years, after starting her international career with a flourish. She has not bowled her full allocation of 4 overs in her last 18 internationals, and on nine of those occasions has not bowled a single over. It will be a tough ask for either of them to have a massive impact on this competition.
Heat's batting looks hideously light, which will put added pressure on Mooney at the top of the order, who had a magnificent WBBL03, but has been out of touch recently. Unfortunately their bowling doesn't look to be their strength either, so it is difficult to see how they will win many games.

This opening clash is likely to go the Strikers, who will probably have just a little too much for the Heat, but if Heat can remove Bates and Devine early it could well be a battle, albeit not a very pretty one!

Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Thunder

Renegades relied heavily on skipper Amy Satterthwaite last year, with fellow overseas player Chamari Atapattu never really hitting her straps to help her out. Sophie Molineux, better known for her darting left-arm spin, also played a prominent hand with the bat, opening the innings, and may be required to do so again, although the addition of England opener Danni Wyatt to the roster looks intriguing.
Molineux is one of three very young current Aussies in the squad. She is joined by leg-spinner Georgia Wareham and quick Tayla Vlaeminck (who is yet to play a WBBL game, although she has one T20I cap under her belt). There will be a lot of pressure on all three of them to perform on the domestic stage, having been given the opportunity to do so on the international one. Both Molineux and Wareham have shown they have no fear of putting their heads above the parapet. In a young team they will already be looked upon as leaders.

Amy Satterthwaite's other half, Kiwi Lea Tahuhu, will lead the bowling attack, alongside the untried Vlaeminck. Tahuhu is undoubtedly quick, but has a tendency to lose her radar at times. She will need to perform on the big occasions.
Renegades look an intriguing mix, and they might just pull off a few shock results if they play carefree cricket. The problem may be if they actually have some success, then the pressure will begin to mount, and it will be how they handle it.

Thunder fell at the semi-final stage last year, despite not getting the most out of their three overseas players - Stafanie Taylor, Harmanpreet Kaur and Rachel Priest. All three return this year with points to prove.
Taylor has not had a great 2018 - she did not sparkle in the KSL, nor the Women's T20 World Cup. She would like to get back to the form that she had in 2016/2017 in the shortest format of the game.
Kaur scored a magical 103 for India against New Zealand in the opening game of the T20 World Cup and looks to be in fine touch with the bat, but the burdens of captaining the Indian T20 team have been sorely felt, since India's defeat to England in the semi-final of the same competition. She may not be the right sort for captaincy, but she can certainly bat. If she can clear her head of all the extraneous stuff, then she might be able to prove that she is world class in this format of the game.
As for Priest she was unceremoniously dropped from the Kiwi squad in October 2017 due to "fitness issues", and then lost her Kiwi contract. She will be keen to show the Kiwi management what they are missing.

In Rachel Haynes Thunder probably have one of the best, most adaptable, and most consistent T20 batsmen in the world today. For Australia she comes in in the middle order and finishes innings or games off. For Thunder she opens the batting with a flourish with Priest, finishing WBBL03 with 426 runs at a strike rate of over 120. 

With the squad very much as it was last year Thunder will be eyeing a place in the final, but skipper Alex Blackwell, who has retired from international and WNCL duties, may have to a back seat and allow Haynes, the overseas players, and the youngsters like Naomi Stalenberg, Nicola Carey and Rachel Trenaman to take centre stage.

This could be the best game of the opening weekend, with one stellar performance taking the game for either side. It seems that Kaur will not be in the Thunder XI, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Rachel Haynes make the most of being back out in the opener's slot and taking the Thunder to the first of many victories.

Martin Davies
30/XI/18