Quantcast

Renegades take lesson from thriller

A Super Over win against the reigning championships has given Renegades belief

Melbourne Renegades captain Amy Satterthwaite says her team has learnt a valuable lesson.

After thinking they'd won on the final ball against the Sydney Sixers in yesterday's Rebel WBBL match at Geelong, the Renegades were brought crashing back to Earth when their premature celebrations opened the door for Sarah Aley and Angela Reakes to steal an extra run, forcing the game to a Super Over.

Sixers pinch second run to force Super Over

There was some controversy on the final delivery, with the Renegades arguing that they ball was dead, but the umpires judged it had still been alive and allowed the second run for the Sixers pair, tying the score on 7-120 apiece.

Fortunately for the Renegades, tight bowling from Hayley Jensen restricted the Sixers to 2-8 in the Super Over - a total which the home side could patiently chase down after Jess Duffin scored a boundary off the first delivery of the Renegades' over - and they secured the win.

"So don't celebrate too early is the lesson we've learnt today, really," Satterthwaite said with a laugh after the match.

"I think it's a pretty good learning curve for us, to be honest. I think we learnt in the moment (to wait) for the ball to be dead. We've had to swallow our pride on that one and move on and focus on the Super Over after that.

"The umpires are saying that it's not over until the batters have stopped running, so in that case we have to hold the ball. We've had to learn the hard way, I guess, and fortunately we still got over the line in the Super Over."

It was not the first time Satterthwaite or the Renegades have played in a Super Over, but last time, they were on opposing sides, with the Melbourne team's new captain having previously played for the Hobart Hurricanes.

Match highlights: 'Canes claim Super Over thriller

But last time there was not the confusion for the Renegades heading into extra play.

The Sixers had looked to be cruising to a comfortable win yesterday, with captain Ellyse Perry again building a calm innings, but when she was removed by a brilliant Mailtan Brown catch, the game turned on its head.

Brown takes brilliant catch against Sixers

The Sixers needed seven to win off the final over, and with new batters at the crease, a composed over from Satterthwaite looked to get the job done. The visitors needed three to win off the final ball, and looked to only make a single, before stealing the run.

Satterthwaite looked to be the only Renegade aware of the potential danger, charging down to the striker's end to collect the ball and try to run Aley out, but the Sixers batter just beat her to the crease.

"I got hit to short fine, she's (Kris Britt's) thrown it back into the keeper (Emma Inglis) who's caught it, and I guess in the girls' minds, they've thought that that's dead - often when the keeper catches it, it's been the case," she said. "But she threw it up in the air and so then the batters took off for another run.

"I had my suspicisions (the ball was still alive), I guess - I went after the ball. I've played indoor cricket and, in that case, the ball is never really dead, so I guess that mindset came into it and (I) just went after it, just unfortunately a little too late.

"I just went after it hoping I could beat the batter, but I wasn't quite fast enough."

Match Highlights: Gades get through in Super Over

Satterthwaite, who's had two wins from two matches at Geelong, said although there was "a lot of emotion" heading into the Super Over for her charges, they composed themselves well to pull off the win.

"I think being out in the field again helped us to regather," she said. "We had five minutes and the message was to the girls that we've got to let this emotion go, and the reality is we're having a Super Over, so we've got to move on and get ready for it.

"I was really pleased with the way the girls stepped up and they really got up for the fight.

"(Jensen) was outstanding at the death in the regular game, so we gave her the ball. She's young, so in that situation, she's done outstandingly well to step up under that pressure situation and we just wanted to go yorkers at the stumps, and she's executed most of them and it was brililant."

Importantly for the Renegades, a team who have finished eighth and seventh respectively in the first two seasons of the WBBL, the win puts them in the top four.

Against the reigning champion and a team which, just a day earlier, comfortably defeated them by 36 runs, it was a huge confidence boost for a team desperate to stamp itself as a contender at last.

"I think it gives us a lot of belief in a lot of different ways," Satterthwaite said.

"We've not only beaten what's one of the top teams in the competition - which has to give us a lot of confidence - but we've done it in a fashion that's really tight, and we have to take a lot out of that as well."

The Renegades take on the Stars in the Melbourne Derby on Saturday, while the Sixers' next opponent is crosstown rival Sydney Thunder on January 13.