WBBL wrap: Strikers, Heat post commanding wins

Brisbane Heat beat Perth Scorchers by seven wickets with 18 balls to spare

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By Laura Jolly at North Sydney Oval

Reigning champions the Brisbane Heat have started WBBL|06 with an upset seven-wicket win over the much-hyped new-look Perth Scorchers.

Powerful allrounder Grace Harris hammered a 37-ball 53 as Brisbane chased their target of 133 with 18 balls to spare.

Sent in by the Heat, the new Scorchers opening pair of Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine got off to a flier, putting on 42 runs in the first six overs.

Their new partnership was broken on 55 when Devine (26) swung hard at a full toss from Amelia Kerr, before a brilliant direct hit from Georgia Prestwidge caught Beth Mooney (37) short of her crease.

Amy Jones and Nicole Bolton struck 25 each, but no other batter reached double figures as the Scorchers were kept to 7-132.

The Heat unveiled their own new opening pair of Maddy Green and Georgia Redmayne, and while the former was caught and bowled by Piepa Cleary for six, the latter thrived against her old side.

She put on 30 for the second wicket with captain Jess Jonassen (21) before Harris strode to the crease with the required run rate sitting around seven.

Hyped up by coach Ashley Noffke before the start of the season, Harris duly delivered with brilliant display of finesse and sheer strength, clearing the rope three times to bring up a half-century.

She departed with just 10 runs required, but anchor Redmayne (37no) ensured no further hiccups.

Adelaide Strikers beat Hobart Hurricanes by eight wickets with 36 balls to spare

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By Sam Ferris at Hurstville Oval

Debutantes Darcie Brown and Laura Wolvaardt have powered the Adelaide Strikers to an eight-wicket thrashing of Hobart in their Rebel WBBL opener at Hurstville Oval.

Brown's hostile 3-13 helped humble the Hurricanes for just 84 as six batters were clean bowled by the Strikers’ disciplined bowlers.

Wolvaardt was sublime in pursuit, posting an unbeaten 51 from 42 balls to guide Adelaide to victory with 36 balls to spare.

Bowling with express pace and late swing, Brown clean bowled Nicola Carey for her first WBBL wicket in her first over before adding Amy Smith and Brooke Hepburn to her wicket tally in an outstanding debut performance that will live long in the memory.

Brown's brilliance came after her captain Megan Schutt won the toss, elected to bowl in overcast conditions and bulldozed Hobart's top order.

Following a first-up wide, Schutt speared through two trademark inswingers to castle Rachel Priest and overseas import Hayley Matthews to be on a hat-trick from the first two legal deliveries of the match.

Schutt missed the hat-trick but the damage was done.

Wickets fell at regular intervals as leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington collected 3-19 to wrap up the innings in the 17th over.

Chasing just 85, South African Wolvaardt was not interested in running, hitting her first five scoring shots the boundary to race to 20 from nine deliveries before finishing with eight fours in the one-sided contest.

Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades - No Result

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By Sam Ferris at Hurstville Oval

Rain cut short an intriguing Melbourne Derby as both sides shared the points on a soggy Sunday afternoon in Sydney.

While the Sydney Smash north of the bridge was completely washed out, the Melbourne equivalent between the Stars and Renegades got through 17 overs before the rain found its way to Hurstville Oval with Meg Lanning's team 4-127.

The Stars skipper left the field unbeaten on 51 from 50 balls with the match in the balance when the drizzle arrived and sent the players back to the Rebel WBBL village.

Lanning was sent in by her Renegades counterpart Amy Satterthwaite, a move that worked wonders in the early match as the Strikers bowled out the Hurricanes for just 84.

And it looked like another small score was on the cards when Renegades opener Courtney Neale trapped Elyse Villani first ball of the match.

But that brought a free-flowing Mignon du Preez to the crease, who struck four fours and a six in her 22-ball 32, adding 69 runs with Lanning for the second wicket.

The Renegades needed a wicket and it came from medium-pacer Carly Leeson, removing du Preez and Nat Sciver (for a golden duck) to shift the momentum.

Up stepped Annabel Sutherland, who, after an early life, took the attack to the Renegades. The shot of the day belonged to Sutherland, a huge lofted off-drive for six having picked the slower ball from Maitlan Brown.

After Lanning brought up her half-century from 48 balls, Sutherland was stumped off the bowling of Australia spinner Sophie Molineux and five balls later the covers were called by the umpires, the players evacuated the field and the match was over. 

Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder - Match Abandoned without a ball bowled