By Adrian Warren and Joel Gould
Fine bowling efforts from Sophie Day and Annabel Sutherland set the Melbourne Stars up for a six-wicket win over the Melbourne Renegades, their first victory of the WBBL season.
Playing in Ballarat, the Renegades batted first and were bowled out for 91 with one over to spare in an innings in which they struck just six fours.
Spinner Day (4-19 off four overs) and quick Sutherland (3-17 off four) were the chief destroyers, setting the Stars on the path to their first WBBL win over their crosstown rivals in almost three years.
Sophie Day, left, celebrates bowling out Carly Leeson. Credit:Graham Denholm, Getty Images
Day returned her best WBBL figures and Australian representative Sutherland bemused the batters with her short balls and changes of pace.
Sutherland (42 not out off 48 balls) also played a key role with the bat, combining with English import Alice Capsey (19 off 21) in a third-wicket stand of 47.
Capsey and Kim Garth (0 off 5) were dismissed in successive overs, but Sutherland and captain Nicole Faltum (10 off 13) steered the Stars to victory with 15 balls to spare.
They moved off the bottom of the table, jumping above Sydney Thunder and the Renegades, with the latter dropping to last.
Annabel Sutherland was another stand out for the Stars.Credit:Graham Denholm, Getty Images
The Stars lost both openers inside the first 3.2 overs, but Sutherland and highly-rated teenager Capsey put their side back in control.
The Renegades struggled from the start, with captain Sophie Molineux caught behind for a golden duck off Garth off the second ball.
A second-wicket stand of 37 looked to have set a decent platform, but the Renegades lost 3-11.
Among those dismissed in that period was top scorer Hayley Matthews (24 off 24 balls), who looked good until she miscued and gave Sutherland a return catch.
The Renegades again looked to be rebuilding after a fifth-wicket stand of 25, but lost 6-17 with Day slicing through the lower order.
The Stars suffered a blow in the third over when Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues was run out after a mix-up with her opening partner Lauren Winfield-Hill.
Rodrigues was beaten by a throw over the stumps from Shabnim Ismail, who four balls later had England’s Winfield-Hill caught at second slip.
In the first game of the Ballarat double-header, a fine all-round effort from Ashleigh Gardner helped the Sydney Sixers to an eight-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes.
In a weather-affected match reduced to 12 overs a side, Gardner returned her best T20 bowling figures of 4-23 as the Hurricanes made 8-95.
The hard-hitting right-hander then spearheaded the Sixers’ chase, smashing a game-high 43 off 22 balls, with her side reaching their target with seven deliveries to spare.
Meanwhile, Victoria captain Peter Handscomb was dismissed for 95 just before stumps after putting his team in a solid position in the Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania in Hobart.
Peter Handscomb of the Bushrangers hits a boundary during the Sheffield Shield match between Tasmania and Victoria. Credit:Steve Bell, Getty Images
Victoria finished day one at 4-216 after Tasmania fast bowler Riley Meredith (2-36) removed Handscomb and nightwatchman Mitchell Perry in quick succession just before the close.
Handscomb had plenty of assistance from debutant Ashley Chandrasinghe (63no) in a 157-run partnership for the third wicket.
The duo came together on the cusp of lunch after openers Marcus Harris (35) and Travis Dean (18) had been dismissed by veteran paceman Peter Siddle (2-43).
Handscomb has reminded Australian selectors this month of his penchant for scoring runs and lots of them.
He has scores of 132 against South Australia and 281no against Western Australia to his credit already this season.
The 31-year-old played the last of his 16 Tests in early 2019 but weight of runs, and he has 518 in the Shield this season, is making a case for his recall.
Tall and lean, left-handed No.3 batter Chandrasinghe played a composed 239-ball knock and put the loose ball away with aplomb.
The 20-year-old was awarded a rookie contract for 2022-23 after a superb 2021-22 season with the Victorian Second XI when he plundered 423 runs at an average of 84.60.
Tasmania had won the toss and sent the Vics in to bat on a pitch that offered assistance for Siddle and his fellow seamers.
The 37-year-old former Test representative has been in top form this summer.
He claimed eight wickets for the match in Tasmania’s recent win over South Australia and picked up where he left off with his nagging seam deliveries just doing enough to trouble the batsmen.
