Tess Flintoff smashes fastest WBBL fifty; Sixers win Sydney derby to continue winning run in WBBL08

In the first match of the day, put into bat, Stars were off to a good start despite losing Jemimah Rodrigues as early. England pair of Lauren Winfield-Hill and Alice Capsey added 81 runs for the second wicket.

Just as it looked like the duo would take Stars to a huge store, ambidextrous Jemma Barsby struck for Adelaide Strikers with her left-arm spin to remove Capsey for 49. Promoted to take advantage of the power surge, Flintoff started with a couple of boundaries through the off side and she then hit Darcie Brown for a couple of sixes.

In the final over, Flintoff took on Megan Schutt and hit the senior pacer for a couple of fours and was batting on 45 off 15 balls with a delivery to go. Schutt erred on length and bowled a full toss which Flintoff deposited over long-on to complete the fastest-fifty feat from just 16 balls to break the record.

Flintoff’s effort meant Stars made their highest team score in the competition history to end the innings on 186 for 5.

For Strikers, Deandra Dottin picked up two wickets for 34 runs.

In reply, Strikers lost Dottin early with Annabel Sutherland taking a good catch off Sash Moloney. Katie Mack and Laura Wolvaardt played a few shots and added 62 runs for the second wicket. But with both of them falling, Strikers were 93 for 4 at one stage.

However, Bridget Patterson and Madeline Penna played a few shots to keep Strikers interested in the chase for a brief period. But once Capsey accounted for Patterson, Strikers’ fight fizzled out. Moloney was the pick of the bowlers for Stars with four wickets to her name.

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In the second game, Sixers opted to bat first against their city rivals Sydney Thunder and they started off with a couple of early wickets in Suzie Bates and Ellyse Perry.

It was up to Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner to resurrect the innings and they added 48 runs for the third wicket. Once Hannah Darlington dismissed Healy, Gardner took the responsibility of taking Sixers to a good score. A couple of 20s from Nicole Bolton and Maitlan Brown helped Sixers post 163 for 6 wickets from the stipulated 20 overs.

In the chase, Thunder lost Tammy Beaumont and Phoebe Litchfield early and it was Rachael Haynes and Chloe Tryon who kept Thunder in the game. Despite a few hits from the big-hitting South African, Thunder couldn’t keep up with the run rate and when Tryon fell in the 17^th over, they still needed more than 50 runs.

Darlington played a few big shots and hit a couple of sixes in pursuit of the chase, but Thunder eventually fell 15-run short. For Sixers, Lauren Cheatle and Gardner picked up three wickets apiece.

Brief Scores:

Melbourne Stars 186/5 in 20 overs (Tess Flintoff 51*, Alice Capsey 49; Deandra Dottin 2/34) beat Adelaide Strikers 164/8 in 20 overs (Katie Mack 47, Bridget Patterson 41; Sasha Moloney 4/24) by 22 runs POTM: Tess Flintoff

Sydney Sixers 163/6 in 20 overs (Ashleigh Gardner 53, Maitlan Brown 29*; Lauren Smith 2/22) beat Sydney Thunder 148/7 in 20 overs (Rachael Haynes 37, Chloe Tryon 32; Lauren Cheatle 3/21, Ashleigh Gardner 3/22) by 15 runs POTM: Ashleigh Gardner