Beth Mooney, Chamari Atapattu shine for Scorchers before rain played spoilsport

Beth Mooney and Chamari Atapattu’s record-breaking partnership for the third wicket propelled Perth Scorchers to 184 for two before rain played spoilsport at the Karen Rolton Oval on Thursday (November 11). Due to continuous rainfall and wet outfield at the same venue, the second match of the day between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Stars secured one point, allowing them to go past Adelaide Strikers to fourth place in the points table.



Thunder decided to open with captain Hannah Darlington in the chase. She clipped Marizanne Kapp for four on her first ball as an opener but lost her off stump in the very next delivery. With that wicket, Kapp became the first overseas player to take 100 wickets in the WBBL. Smriti Mandhana hit Lilly Mills for two boundaries in her first over before rain first interrupted and later forced the end of play.



Earlier, Scorchers won the toss and opted to bat first as both sides made a few changes to the playing XI. Bowling all-rounder Kate Peterson replaced Corinne Hall for Thunder while Piepa Cleary and Samantha Betts made it to the Scorchers playing XI. Sophie Devine started with two boundaries in Issy Wong’s opening over. However, she was undone by Sammy-Jo Johnson for 16 shortly after.



After Devine’s fall, Mooney immediately took the charge of the innings, scoring ten runs from Deepti Sharma’s first over. With Chloe Piparo, she took Scorchers to 48 at the end of the power play without losing any more wickets. The momentum didn’t last for long as Piparo was caught behind off Darlington in the seventh over. However, that did not deter Mooney, who continued her good form with the bat.



Also Read: Fitter and hungrier: The reinvention of Beth Mooney, the run-machine



Mooney was given a lifeline on 20 when Samantha Bates dropped a relatively easy chance off Wong, but thereafter she was faultless in her innings. The southpaw brought up her fourth half-century of the season in just 34 balls and took Scorchers across the 100-run mark in the 13th over. Atapattu, playing her final match of the tournament before leaving for the World Cup Qualifiers, clobbered the newbie Peterson for 18 runs.



The Sri Lanka skipper's first half-century was not far as she brought up the milestone in 33 balls. Atapattu made the most of her final opportunity in the competition as she hit Johnson for 20 runs in the 18th over. She (70*) and Mooney (83*) remained unbeaten as Scorchers finished with 184 runs in the first innings.



With the continuous rain, the Melbourne Derby between Stars and Renegades also had the same fate as both teams walked away with one point each from the abandoned fixture.



Brief Scores:



Perth Scorchers 184/2 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 83, Chamari Atapattu 70*; Hannah Darlington 1/32) v Sydney Thunder Match called off due to rain



Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades- Match abandoned without a ball being bowled