Duffin stars for Renegades; Kapp, Devine shine in superover finish

Jess Duffin shined with the bat as Melbourne Renegades continued their winning juggernaut in the seventh edition of  Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) against Sydney Sixers on Saturday (October 30). Meanwhile, Scorchers found a way to win their second super over of the year, thanks to Sophie Devine, after an inspiring batting performance by Tegan McPharlin and Sarah Coyte, that gave Adelaide Strikers a fighting chance.



Batting first, Renegades were in a spot of bother when Ellyse Perry sent opener Evelyn Jones back in her first over. Perry continued with the pace bowlers in the power play as Courtney Webb was dismissed for just nine by Stella Campbell.



The Indian duo of Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur then took advantage of some wayward bowling from Campbell and Perry to take 28 runs from the last two overs of the power play.



The introduction of spin slowed down the scoring rate for the Renegades and that brought the wicket of Rodrigues, breaking the promising partnership of 51 runs between her and Kaur.



Duffin, batting at five took her time to settle before going after Nicole Bolton and Radha Yadav. Yadav found some relief when she caught her compatriot on her own bowling in the 16th over.



Ashleigh Gardner made the most of her two-over spell, sending Renegades captain Sophie Molineux and Josephine Dooley back to the pavilion. Duffin hit Bolton for 17 runs in the final over to take Renegades to 142 for seven at the end of the first innings. Apart from Gardner and Lauren Cheatle, all of the Sixers bowlers were hit all over the park by Renegades.



In reply, captain Molineux opened the bowling herself and bowled Alyssa Healy in the very first over. Gardner’s horror run with the bat continued as Dooley and Rodrigues effected a fantastic run-out. Bolton and Perry steadied the ship for the Sixers, but the required run rate continued to climb up.



The 18-year-old Ella Hayward broke the promising partnership of 32 runs as Perry was caught by Kaur on 28 and the very next ball Bolton was run-out by Dooley. Indian recruit Shafali Verma partnered with Brown to give Sixers some hope. The pair most of their stay in the middle and put the partnership of 50 runs for the sixth wicket.



Ellie Falconer ended this fightback by dismissing both Brown and Verma in the space of three balls. Sixers could only score 130 for 9 in the 20 overs as Renegades registered their fourth victory of the season by 12 runs.



In the second match, Scorchers’ opening pair of Devine and Beth Mooney put an opening partnership of 59 runs after deciding to bat first. Devine was scratchy to start with, especially against Megan Schutt, who marked her return to competitive cricket after hiatus of six months. Uncharacteristically, Mooney was the aggressor between them as she scored 36 runs including five boundaries.



McPharlin’s handy work behind the stumps was instrumental as Dane van Niekerk broke the dangerous-looking partnership. Skipper Tahlia McGrath’s beautiful inswinger got better of Marizanne Kapp as Scorchers struggled in the middle overs.



Heather Graham hit McGrath for two back-to-back boundaries to show her intentions early. Graham was caught brilliantly by Coyte in the final over, but her 22 off 20 balls helped Scorchers go beyond the 120 mark.



In reply, Strikers got off to a rough start as Mooney took two excellent catches to see the back of a South African pair of van Niekerk and Laura Wolvaardt. McGrath and opener Katie Mack tried to control the chase, but after some initial success Strikers lost three more wickets in quick succession.



McPharlin arrived at the crease when Strikers needed 38 runs in less than five overs with only four wickets in hand. She also saw the last known batter other than her in Bridget Patterson go down in the 17th over. Strikers needed 8 runs from the final over and she and Coyte forced a super over by scoring seven runs from it.



In the super over, Scorchers captain Devine handed the ball to Kapp as she conceded only nine runs. A brilliant fielding display from the Scorchers saw two run-outs as well. Chasing 10 runs for their second super-over victory of the season, Devine hit Schutt for two back-to-back sixes, sealing the victory for the home side at the Lilac Hill.



Brief Scores:



Melbourne Renegades 142/7 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 43, Jess Duffin 41*; Ashleigh Gardner 2/8) beat Sydney Sixers 130/9 in 20 overs (Maitlan Brown 31, Ellyse Perry 28; Eleanor Falconer 2/28) by 12 runs.



Perth Scorchers 121/5 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 36, Heather Graham 22; Amanda-Jade Wellington 2/12) beat Adelaide Strikers 121/8 in 20 overs (Katie Mack 24, Tegan McPharlin 21*; Lily Mills 2/18) in super over.