Du Preez, Redmayne shine as Hobart Hurricanes, Brisbane Heat register wins

A sensational half-century from Mignon du Preez and Belinda Vakarewa’s tidy bowling helped Hobart Hurricanes end their Women’s Big Bash League campaign on a high on Saturday (November 20). Meanwhile, Georgia Redmayne and Jess Jonassen shined for Brisbane Heat as they beat Melbourne Renegades by 43 runs.



Playing for the top spot in the ladder, Renegades captain Sophie Molineux stuck early to remove dangerous Grace Harris inside the power play for 12. That didn’t stop Redmayne as she hit Elenor Falconer for ten in an over to end the power play on 47 for one. Patient Redmayne brought up her 5th half-century of the season with a six over the bowler’s head in the 13th over. Georgia Voll supported her with a classy 41 of her own.



Heat lost the well set Redmayne for 71, and with Laura Kimmince and Mikayla Hinkley departing shortly after, it looked like Heat will be bundled out for a below-par score at Mackay. Captain Jonassen kept her cool and scored a handy 11 off nine balls that propelled Heat past 150. For Renegades, Molineux was her economical best once again as every other bowler was hit all over the park.

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In the chase, Renegades lost their Indian star, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Courtney Webb in the power play. Renegades were without the service of their consistent performer as Harmanpreet Kaur was not able to take part in the second innings due to illness. Evelyn Jones and Josie Dooley tried to keep the scoreboard ticking, but it was too little for the Renegades.



The visitors could not find a steady partnership and were bowled out for 113 in the 19th over. Jonassen, the highest wicket-taker in the seventh edition of the competition, took three wickets in her three overs while conceding only 10 runs. She was supported by Nicola Hancock, who took two important wickets of Rodrigues and Jess Duffin. The collective bowling efforts helped Heat beat the Renegades by 43 runs.



Earlier, Hurricanes’ captain was castled for her second consecutive duck by English pacer Issy Wong in the very first over. The pair of Ruth Johnston and du Preez picked up from where they left in the previous match against the Renegades, clobbering Wong for 14 runs. Johnston was caught by Deepti Sharma off Sammy-Jo Johnson just before the power play was over, leaving Hurricanes 36 for 2 at the end of it.

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Once Nicola Carey and Richa Ghosh were dismissed in quick succession, du Preez took charge of the innings hitting her second consecutive half-century in 42 balls. She put up an unbeaten partnership of 48 runs with Molly Strano to take her side above the 140-run mark. The South African international finished on 87 not out of 61 deliveries. For Thunder, apart from Samantha Bates, other bowlers struggled against the du Preez hitting. Bates finished with two wickets as Wong, Johnson, and Deepti Sharma chipped in with a wicket each.



Thunder’s reply started on shaky grounds as Preist caught Indian opener Smriti Mandhana off Vakarewa in the very first over. Tahlia Wilson was next to depart giving Vakarewa two wickets in two overs. Johnson, fresh off her highest individual score in the WBBL, went all guns blazing against Tayla Vlaeminck, hitting the fast bowler for 19 runs. The Johnson inning was cut short by Nicola Carey immediately after the powerplay.



Anika Learoyd and Sharma added 59 runs for the fourth wicket but Vakarewa’s slower ball deceived Learoyd and broke the vital partnership. Thunder could not build upon that foundation and lost five wickets for just 36 runs. Sasha Moloney Successfully defended 11 overs from the final over to end the Hurricanes’ campaign with a win.



Brief Scores:



Hobart Hurricanes 147/5 in 20 overs (Mignon du Preez 87, Molly Strano 23; Samantha Bates 2/22) beat Sydney Thunder 143/9 in 20 overs (Sammy-Jo Johnson 39, Anika Learoyd 34; Belinda Vakarewa 3/8)



Brisbane Heat 156/5 in 20 overs (Georgia Redmayne 71, Georgia Voll41; Rhiann O’Donnell 2/26) beat Melbourne Renegades 113 all out in 18.1 overs (Josie Dooley 35, Rhiann O’Donnell 19; Jess Jonassen 3/10) by 43 runs