Renegades stake claim on contender status

The Melbourne Renegades’ investment in youth during the first two Rebel WBBL seasons is paying dividends in the third installment of the competition.

Although the Renegades brought in experience from rival clubs and overseas, it has been the performances of some of their emerging young stars now in their second and third seasons with the club that has been most exciting for the club.

Batting allrounder Sophie Molineux, 19, and leg-spinner Georgia Wareham, 18, have been at the fore as the Renegades have notched up three wins in a row to stamp themselves as a serious contender for the WBBL|03 finals – which, if they make it, would be the club’s first finals appearance in the WBBL.

Molineux was crowned player of the match for her unbeaten knock of 45 off 37 deliveries on Saturday as her team chased down the Brisbane Heat’s meagre total of 66 runs.

The performance was far from a one-off. Molineux hit 40 off 33 against the same team at Camberwell on Friday, and made a promising start with 28 runs against the in-form Adelaide Strikers at Glenelg last Sunday.

She has compiled 141 runs across five matches so far this season to give the Renegades solid foundations in their batting innings.

Molineux said both hers and fellow opener Chamari Atapattu’s jobs were made easy under the roof on Saturday after a devastating display from the Renegades’ bowlers.

“It was really good by the girls – we bowled really disciplined,” she said. “We sort of had the easy job, Cha Cha (Atapattu) and I, to tick along at the start there and have a bit of fun at the end.

“Everyone bowled in the right areas and did the team things. It’s credit to everyone’s attitude and how much everyone is enjoying bowling to our plans and playing for each other.”

The first win against the Strikers may have been a relief for the Renegades – they’d lost to the same team the previous day by one run, on the back of an 11-run loss to an impressive Sydney Thunder outfit to open the season.

But since then, they’ve moved past relief and are looking to build momentum.

Wareham, who’d bowled a few scattered overs in previous seasons, is becoming a regular spin option for the team.

She broke through for her first two wickets against the Strikers, including the game-changing wicket of the red-hot Adelaide captain Suzie Bates, who was threatening to single-handedly take the game away from the Renegades again.

She removed dangerous big-hitter Deandra Dottin for just one run on Friday, and claimed another two wickets on Saturday.

Joining with the likes of Australian T20 off-spinner Molly Strano (eight wickets from five games), Wareham is forming part of a potent Renegades spin offence.

The emerging challengers will get their best indication yet of where they stand in WBBL|03 when they take on top team and reigning champion Sydney Sixers on January 2 and 3 in Victoria.

“I think we’re getting them at the right time,” Molineux said. “It should be a good game on both ends.

“We started (the season) off a bit slowly – a little bit unlucky there – but for us to get on the right end of these games, it just shows our resilience, and we’re really looking forward to after Christmas and see what more we can do.”

There’s still plenty of cricket to be played before the WBBL finals in the first week of February, but this summer already shapes as a huge step forward for the team that has finished eighth and seventh respectively in the first two seasons.

“We’re doing the right things on and off the field, and everyone’s enjoying each other’s company, and I think that’s a really important part of the Big Bash, where you’re living in each other’s pockets for about six weeks.

“It seems to be that we’re gelling pretty well at the moment.”