Courtney Webb heroics bring Stars down in a thriller; Heat hand Hurricanes a hiding

Hobart Hurricanes vs Brisbane Heat

Opting to bat first, it seemed like Hurricanes were in for a big score with Rachel Priest getting yet another fast start taking them to 25 for 0 from opening three overs. But her innings was nipped in the bud by Heat skipper Jess Jonassen when the big-hitting New Zealander went for a sweep and was bowled.

Although Hayley Matthews pulled off an incredible shot for six over mid-wicket of the bowling off Nicola Hancock, she was dismissed in the same over for eight. Her dismissal started a procession of the sorts for the side from Tasmania with them losing three wickets for a solitary run to be reduced to 36 for 5. The downward spiral didn’t stop there and soon Hurricanes found themselves at 52 for 6 in 10.2 0vers.

Nicola Carey and Emma Thompson tried their best to arrest the slide with 19 runs each, but the boundaries were dried up with the Hurricanes finding only three of them outside the power play. Once Carey was dismissed Jonassen and Amelia Kerr finished the innings skittling Hurricanes out for a paltry score of 82 in 17.5 overs.

Jonassen finished with impressive figures of 2 for 8 from the three overs she bowled. Hancock and Kerr also picked up two wickets each.

Needing only 83 to win, Heat openers were happy to bide their time and played out two maidens in the power play hit only one boundary. Grace Harris was particularly circumspect and let Redmayne do the bulk of the scoring.

Georgia Redmayne struck a fluent half century. © Getty Images

Hurricanes fed Redmayne with many loose deliveries as they missed the length on occasions and they were also poor on the field dropping the Heat batters multiple times. The left-hander kept collecting boundaries through this and brought up her fifty from 28 balls in the process.

Once Redmayne went past fifty, the opening duo finished the match off with a flurry of boundaries in 11.4 overs to hand Hurricanes a big thrashing by 10 wickets.

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Melbourne Stars vs Melbourne Renegades

Big hitting Lizelle Lee found a couple of boundaries for Renegades in the Super Over to get one across their Melbourne rivals after the game ended in a stalemate at the end of 40 overs. 16 runs were one hit too many for the Stars and they came second by 4 runs in the one-over shootout.

Chasing a mammoth target of 166, Renegades brought Lee back to the opening spot and it looked like a rewarding move for a bit even as she lost her batting partner Molineux cheaply for three. Lee’s boundary-ridden 18-ball knock came to an end when she missed a paddle off Sophie Day.

Day was once again in the thick of the action when her accurate throw found Renegades skipper Amy Satterthwaite short at the non-striking end to leave them struggling at 40 for 3 inside the power play. It all seemed like a familiar tale for Renegades at that stage.

Courtney Webb hit her first WBBL fifty against Melbourne Stars. © Getty Images

However, Renegades batters Josie Dooley and Courtney Webb had other ideas. The pair resurrected the innings with a fifty partnership from 7.1 overs. Once Dooley was dismissed Webb took over the role of the aggressor and newly arrived Leeson played a useful cameo of 11 from seven balls at the other end.

Webb took on Holly Ferling to smash the pace bowler for a four and a six while Leeson took on Annabel Sutherland. Sutherland’s three overs went for 38 runs. Renegades kept going for it even after King dismissed Leeson with Webb launching King for back-to-back sixes. Amy Yates joined Webb in the pursuit the target and brought it down to under run-a-ball with her 12-ball 17.

However, Renegades couldn’t find boundaries in the last two overs and a couple from Webb in the last ball levelled the scores in game that saw many twists and turns.

Earlier, Stars openers Meg Lanning and Elyse Villani started with a flurry of boundaries smashing seven hits to the fence in the first five overs after having put into bat. They were particularly severe on Lea Tahuhu, who was returning from her long injury layoff, taking 19 runs from her two overs.

Introduction of the experienced Molly Strano into the attack brought immediate reward for Renegades when Villani was trapped in front of the wicket for 17 to take Strano to 100 WBBL wicket mark, first to do so in the competition.

However, that brought Mignon du Preez to join Lanning at the crease and they continued their rich vein of form in the tournament. The pair first took on Carly Leeson putting her through the leg-side for a couple of fours. Then du Preez launched Tahuhu over long on for a big six.

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Just when it looked like the Stars duo will take the game away from their neighbours Makinley Blows struck to remove Lanning for 41 in the 11^th over. That didn’t stop du Preez from thumping Sophie Molineux over mid-wicket for another six. Natalie Sciver soon joined the experienced South African as she hit Leeson for a couple of fours before launching Strano over mid-wicket.

Renegades needed someone to provide a breakthrough and 17-year-old Ella Hayward gave them more than that when she struck twice in the 16^th over to sent both of them back to the pavilion. Sciver was bowled going for a big shot down the ground and du Preez slogged one to Strano at deep mid-wicket.

Once they were dismissed, Stars lost a flurry of wickets to reduce them from 125 for 2 to 134 for 7 with Hayward wreaking havoc through the lower-middle order.

However, Renegades’ hope of limiting Stars to a manageable score was thwarted by Alana King. She used her long levers and repeatedly put the ball over the region between long-on and mid-wicket. Her 12-ball 27, featuring four sixes, took Stars to an imposing total of 165 for 8 in the stipulated 20 overs.

Hayward finished with incredible figures of 4 for 16 from her four overs while Makinley Blows and Strano took two wickets each.

Brief Scores:

Hobart Hurricanes 82/10 in 17.5 overs (Jess Jonassen 2/8, Amelia Kerr 2/16) lost to Brisbane Heat 86/0 in 11.4 overs (Georgia Redmayne 61*, Grace Harris 23*) by 10 wickets. PoTM: Georgia Redmayne

Melbourne Stars 165/8 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 41, Mignon du Preez 40; Ella Hayward 4/16) tied with Melbourne Renegades 165/7 in 20 overs (Courtney Webb 54, Josie Dooley 36; Holly Ferling 2/21) Renegades won via Super Over. PoTM: Courtney Webb