Heather Graham’s all-round performance in vain as Renegades claim the win

At the WACA Ground, Perth Scorchers hosted the Melbourne Renegades. The tourists emerged victorious, defeating the Scorchers by four wickets.

Batting first, the Scorchers struggled. Lea Tahuhu made early breakthroughs, claiming the prized scalps of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Villani. Amy Jones (23) and Heather Graham (42) then combined for a 41 run stand to steady the ship. However, the Scorchers were unable to accelerate as wickets fell regularly. Graham top scored but had to work hard for her runs by running between the wickets. She eventually succumbed to the Renegades. Scorchers finished on a below par score of 122-6, courtesy of some exemplary fielding by their opponents.

The Renegades fielders took some absolute blinders and exerted pressure on the Scorchers batters. They supported their bowlers well, thus were able to restrict the hosts to a low target. Tahuhu and the returning Maitlan Brown took two wickets each, while Sophie Molineux and Molly Strano claimed a scalp each.

Chasing, the Scorchers got the early breakthrough they needed to defend the low total, by dismissing Molineux for four. Renegades’ top scorer Jess Duffin(35) then led the chase, helped by contributions from Danni Wyatt (27) and skipper Amy Satterthwaite  (26)

At 102-3 at the start of the 13^th over, the Renegades looked to be in the box seat. However, two runs after Satterthwaite’s dismissal, Duffin followed her to the dugout and two new batters came to the crease. Scorchers started to believe they could pull off an incredible win. When Nicole Bolton sent Brown and Emma Inglis back off consecutive deliveries, the Renegades found themselves faltering on 117-6. However, by that time, only six runs were needed for the win and Claire Koski and Strano guided their team over the line safely.

While she did not perform as well with the bat as she would have liked, Bolton was the pick of the bowlers for the Scorchers. She finished with figures of 3-28. Hayleigh Brennan also claimed a scalp, while Graham claimed two. For her defiant all-round performance, Graham was named Player-of-the-Match.