Saville shines in Strikers' last-gasp win

A last-ball free-hit four from Tabatha Saville has lifted the Adelaide Strikers to a thrilling one-wicket triumph over the Melbourne Stars in a Rebel WBBL thriller.

Needing four to win off the final delivery to chase down a 133-run target at Adelaide Oval, Saville missed a chest-high full toss from Stars skipper Kristen Beams. It it was correctly called a no-ball and had to be re-bowled as a free hit.

Saville made no mistake, slicing it over backward point for a boundary to secure a miracle victory and steer the Strikers into third position on the table.

The young Fijian, who top-scored with her unbeaten 28, helped to dig the Strikers out of a deep hole created by another teenager, Stars schoolgirl Annabel Sutherland.

The 16-year-old daughter of Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland bagged 4-20 from four overs, triggering a 4-7 collapse by the Strikers who had been cruising at 2-70.

Sutherland snared two massive scalps from her first three balls in Stars colours, enticing Australian international Tahlia McGrath to hole out to Anna Lanning at mid-off.

She than knocked over New Zealand vice-captain Sophie Devine's stumps with a superb in-swinger to give the Stars the edge before Saville's last-ditch heroics.

Earlier, openers Lizelle Lee (52) and Katie Mack (42) laid the foundation for the Stars' steady, if unimposing, 5-132.

Devine snared both openers, finishing with 2-28 from her four overs plus the run-out of Stars vice-captain Erin Osborne to ensure the Strikers wouldn't be chasing anything too formidable.