The Melbourne Stars have salvaged a win from their last match of the WBBL season, defeating cross-town rivals the Melbourne Renegades in a rain-affected match.
The Stars struggled to get going with the bat in the first innings, managing a total of just 118.
With rain lingering around, the Renegades needed to get to 0-24 from five overs to be ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method.
The rain hit after the fourth over and reduced the Renegades’ innings to 12 overs.
The Renegades – returning to the crease at 2-12 – needed to reach 81 by the end of the 12th over to claim their third win of the season.
West Indian star Hayley Matthews struck three boundaries to breathe life back into her side but the rain allowed only nine balls to be bowled before it returned for good.
The Stars were ahead by eight runs when the match was called.
GARTH GIVES THE STARS A CHANCE
Despite having a quiet tournament heading in, Kim Garth’s fierce opening spell ultimately steered the Melbourne Stars to victory.
Garth had taken just seven wickets for the entire tournament before taking the new ball on Saturday night.
She sent Renegades openers Emma de Broughie and Tammy Beaumont back to the sheds in her second over after going for just one run in her first.
Garth grabbed 2-2 from her two power play overs prior to the rain delay, which eventually proved crucial in the end result.
RAIN DENIES DAY AFTER “EMBARASSING” TRIP IN
The weather denied star off-spinner Sophie Day a piece of WBBL folklore.
The left-arm tweaker entered the final match of the summer needing two wickets to claim the competition’s record for the most wickets in a season.
Day bowled two of the Stars’ five completed overs but didn’t claim a wicket.
The record remains with Sarah Aley, who took 29 wickets for the Sydney Sixers in 2016-17.
Day still finished the season with a record after becoming the first player in WBBL history to collect four four-wicket hauls.
Earlier in the piece, the 25-year-old joined the commentary team in the initial stages of first innings and revealed her “embarrassing” trip into her maiden match on the MCG.
Day decided to venture to the match via public transport and while decked out in her Melbourne Stars kit, a tram wrapped in a Stars marketing campaign arrived.
The tram conductor recognised Day and welcomed her aboard over the loudspeaker.
DUFFIN CALLS TIME
After a phenomenal career inspiring young cricketers across the country, Jess Duffin called time on her superb multi-sport career on Saturday night.
Duffin made 117 appearances for Australia, playing a vital role in her nation’s treble of World Cup wins, before playing 42 matches of AFLW.
Duffin played AFLW at Collingwood, North Melbourne and Hawthorn before finishing at the end of the 2022 season.
Known for her trademark hands, Duffin fittingly made a high-ball catch look easy to dismiss Alice Capsey in the first innings.
Mel Jones lauded Duffin’s fielding on the coverage.
“She could (wicket) keep, you could have her at cover or point, she had a great arm and she would take hangers,” Jones said.
