Saturday’s huge triple-header of WBBL action delivered in spades, kicked off by a simply unbelievable performance from Australian international star Beth Mooney.
MOONEY’S MAGICAL MILESTONE
Beth Mooney confirmed her status as one of the greatest batters of all time with the Scorchers opener achieving something never seen before in the WBBL to help her side to a crushing win over the battling Renegades.
A week after she plundered a sublime 99 not out against the Sixers, Mooney destroyed Melbourne with 90 off 58 deliveries, and in doing so became the first player in WBBL history to score 4000 runs.
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“Contributing today was really special,” Mooney said after the match.
Mooney struck 11 boundaries and cleared the rope twice in her magical knock, falling on the final ball of the innings to bring an end to one of the best partnerships of the season.
The Scorchers finished their 20 overs on 4/192, posting the highest ever WBBL total at the Junction Oval thanks to a ruthless partnership of 123 off just 56 deliveries for the fourth wicket.
South African veteran Marizanne Kapp was even more brutal with the bat, belting an unbeaten 68 at a whopping strike rate of 200 as she took apart the attack with four lusty blows over the rope.
The all-rounder brought up a milestone of her own, passing 1000 WBBL runs with her highest score in the competition.
The pair took advantage of the small boundaries in Melbourne to belt 32 runs off the surge, with both players finding the fence to bring up their milestones.
It was exactly what the Scorchers needed to breathe life back into their campaign with the defending champions starting the day outside the top four, and it was fitting that Mooney took a catch off Kapp’s bowling to end the match.
DEVINE INTERVENTION
Perth’s 104-run victory wasn’t all smooth sailing, with skipper Sophie Devine failing to fire despite moving down the order.
The New Zealand legend has forged one of the greatest opening partnerships with Mooney over the years, but she dropped down a spot having averaged just 14.88 and striking at below 100 heading into Saturday’s match.
The move didn’t improve things for Devine who was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from the deep for just six.
“She’s been working hard at her game, and I don’t think there’s anything in particular (that’s wrong),” Scorchers coach Shelley Nitschke said.
“She just needs to keep hanging in there.
“It wasn’t ideal getting run out today, but we’re hopeful that Soph will turn it around.”
The decision to demote herself looked to have backfired when the Scorchers limped to 0/17 after the power play without their destructive opener, but it didn’t matter in the end with Mooney and Kapp bringing the heat later in the innings.
RENEGADES IN A RUT
It’s been a lean year for the ladies in red with just two wins from 11 matches, but they aren’t making life easy for themselves with some basic errors in the field.
Josie Dooley spilt a regulation chance behind the stumps in the fourth over, while Rhiann O’Donnell dropped a tougher chance at the other end when Mooney was on 14.
They did have some bright moments in the field with a couple of direct hits leading to run outs, but their own running between the wickets left a lot to be desired when Chamari Athapaththu ran herself out when her team needed a big score.
Their batting was abysmal, with only three players reaching double digits before they were eventually rolled for 88.
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WOODEN SPOON TO SILVERWARE
The Sixers are one step closer to securing top spot and a home grand final after they picked up a crucial win over the Stars to move up to 15 competition points.
The WBBL heavyweights are on fire this season after claiming last year’s wooden spoon, and they hold their fate in their own hands with four matches to go.
The Sixers have a huge game on Sunday against the Scorchers who smashed the Renegades on Saturday and knocked off the team from Sydney last week.
But things get a lot easier after that with their final three matches all at North Sydney Oval, including a mouth-watering top of the table clash against the Heat on Wednesday night.
If they can win that one and at least two of their remaining fixtures then the Sixers should finish on top and secure safe passage to the final where they’ll host the winner of the Challenger.
“We want to stay top of the ladder,” player of the match Ash Gardner said.
“We want a home final.”
ALL-ROUND ASH
The Sixers have international superstars everywhere you look, but Gardner has stepped up this year as their most important player.
The world’s number four ranked all-rounder has lived up to the billing this year and showed off all her skills on Saturday to keep the Stars at bay.
Gardner was one of five Sixers players to pass 20, belting three boundaries and a six in her 28 off 17 before she backed it up with four wickets and a catch to help restrict the hosts to 101.
“I’m having a lot of fun, and that comes back to being really happy off the field,” said Gardner, who is now this season’s leading wicket-taker.
Suzie Bates was one of the few batters who missed out for Sydney but she made up for it with four catches, tying her own record for most catches in an innings.
NOSTRADAMUS
Player access is one of the great innovations in modern sport, and broadcasters got lucky with Nicole Bolton on the mic.
The Sixers spinner was bowling to the big-hitting Tess Flintoff having just seen her smash a six in the previous over.
Bolton spoke to the commentators about how scared she was and that she’d try to dart one in to sneak under the bat.
In the end she did the complete opposite, dragging one back which Flintoff whacked straight to a fielder on the boundary.
“That was the worst delivery of my career,” Bolton laughed.
“What is it, the ‘s’ word gets wickets?
“Yeah baby!”
THE WAIT CONTINUES
A healthy crowd rocked up to Junction Oval to watch the Stars play their first game in Melbourne in more than 1000 days.
The pandemic brought a number of codes in Victoria undone for several years, with locals starved of WBBL for three years.
But that ended on Saturday with a sea of green in attendance to cheer on the Stars who needed a win to keep their finals hopes alive.
Kim Garth (2-9 off three overs) bowled well but no one got going with the bat which leaves the Stars on six competition points and likely needing to win at least four of their final five matches to sneak into the top four.
It was a tough day for the locals with the Renegades belted in the opening game before the Stars went down by 45 runs.
