Darlington three, Knight fifty help Thunder thump Renegades, rise to third in WBBL06 table

Heather Knight’s unbeaten 58 followed young Hannah Darlington’s three for 22 with the ball as Sydney Thunder got back to winning ways to move up to third in the points table after an eight-wicket win against Melbourne Renegades on Tuesday (November 17) in the sixth season of the Women’s Big Bash League. The result effectively ends Renegades’ hopes of a top-four finish and making the semi-finals.



Thunder were off to a fast start, thanks to a ‘different’ Tammy Beaumont making an appearance at the Sydney Showground Stadium. She was up and running in the second over, hitting an otherwise economical Sophie Molineux for a four and a six off successive deliveries. That confident rubbed off on Rachel Trenaman, who was back at the opening spot after three matches. She hit three fours off Lea Tahuhu – one in the first over and two off consecutive balls of her second over, before being trapped in front of the sticks for 15.



Beaumont went about with her task confidently, with her English skipper Knight for company. Thunder were well on course having 59 on board before the completion of the power play, before they lost Beaumont for 23 on the last ball.



That brought the seasoned pair of Knight and Rachael Haynes together, who quelled any chances there would have been of a Renegades win, with their unconquered 73-run association. Knight was as dominant as she could be with her shots against seamers and spinners alike. She managed to hit at least one boundary every over till the 11^th post which Haynes got into the act.



The southpaw then hit a four off Carly Leeson in the 13th and then a couple more off Makinley Blows in the 14^th over, to dampen Renegades’ spirits. Knight then finished things off in style, belting Ella Hayward, the star of Renegades’ previous match, for two fours and a six to seal the win as well as get to her fourth half century in WBBL06.



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Earlier, after put in to bat, Renegades lost Lizelle Lee (one) early, with her South African team-mate Shabnim Ismail getting the better of her. Soon, Sophie Molineux also followed suit in the last over the of the power play, holing out to long on off Samantha Bates, her 14^th in WBBL06.



But then a familiar recovery was on show, courtesy Josie Dooley and Amy Satterthwaite. The duo found the going a bit tough and had to rely on their running between the wickets in order to keep the scoreboard ticking. Satterthwaite, who hit a slow 48 not out versus Perth Scorchers on Saturday (Nov 14), played a steady hand to make 39 before a risky second run saw her falling short of her crease.



That brought an end to the 76-run third wicket partnership.



Dooley kept going at the other end, mainly relying on her running, despite trying many a cheeky shot in the process. In the end, one such attempted scoop, where she missed the line of the ball completely, saw her innings come to a close on 46 in the last over of the innings. Once the Dooley-Satterthwaite pair was separated, Renegades could only add a further 23 runs and ended up losing five more wickets in the process.



Darlington was the pick of the Thunder bowlers, returning three wickets, including that of Dooley.



Brief Scores: Melbourne Renegades 126/7 in 20 overs (Josie Dooley 46, Amy Satterthwaite 39; Hannah Darlington 3/22) lost to Sydney Thunder 132/2 in 14.3 overs (Heather Knight 58*, Rachael Haynes 33*) by eight wickets. PoTM: Heather Knight.