Sophie Molineux hit the equal-third quickest WBBL half-century as she sparked a remarkable comeback for the Melbourne Renegades, landing a devastating blow on the Adelaide Strikers’ three-peat chances.
Three hours of cricket came down to the final ball of the match with Nicole Faltum and Sarah Coyte at the crease for the Renegades, while Anesu Mushangwe had the last over for the Strikers.
The equation was simple for the Renegades. Two runs to win off the final ball.
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The Strikers’ field tightened, and it was down to Faltum who belted the ball back, getting past the bowler, the pair ran hard for two and secured one of the great comeback victories.
The win gets the Renegades back in the finals frame at 2-2, while a 1-3 start to the season makes the championship defence much harder for the Strikers.
After losing the top order cheaply, the Renegades looked dead and buried at 5-52 almost halfway through their batting innings. None of their top five had made a score more than 12, the required run rate was rising and the target of 158 looked unlikely.
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Enter Sophie Molineux. She did it with the ball, and backed it up with some power-hitting that sparked great belief within her side.
It was a spectacular display as she did whatever she pleased, belting 12 boundaries (including three sixes) on her way to 64 off 32 deliveries.
The skipper said the belief never wavered and credited the versatility of her team’s batting line-up.
“We bat deep, that helps, it’s a game that just kept going up and down,” she said.
“We were confident coming off the ground that it would be hard work at the start but if you got through that, we could catch up.”
In the space of three overs, the Renegades scored 45 runs and all of a sudden, the game had completely turned, and Melbourne was in the box seat.
But just when the Renegades had got the required run rate back to less than six per over, they lost their two established batters Deandra Dottin (20) and Molineux (64) and the job was left to the lower order.
Katie Mack (23) and Orla Prendergast (31) were strong performers for the Strikers, while Darcie Brown, Amanda Jade-Wellington and Jemma Barbsy all took two wickets.
The game went down to the wire with the ‘super over’ appearing likely at times, but it was the Renegades who held on for back-to-back wins across the weekend.
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SPIN IS KING
The Melbourne Renegades’ spin brigade cashed in again and while the side only took five wickets, four of them could be attributed to their reliable spinners.
Captain Sophie Molineux leads the league in wickets with nine to her name after adding another two against the Strikers.
She has put together a successful weekend with ball in hand taking 4-17 (vs Scorchers) and 2-39 (vs Strikers).
Georgia Wareham and Alice Capsey also took one wicket each in the loss.
The spin success of the Renegades has been prominent so far this season after Saturday’s match saw the spin bowlers take all 10 wickets against the Scorchers.
GOLDEN START
After hitting 41 off 27 deliveries and taking two wickets last game, Hayley Matthews loomed as a dangerous in-form player in this clash and definitely wouldn’t have had a golden duck on her bingo card.
It was a perplexing dismissal as Matthews gave Strikers’ Anesu Mushangwe one of the easiest catches you could imagine, spooning it perfectly back to the bowler – a perfect start for the Strikers.
As it had done all day, the ball seemed to grip in the Junction Oval surface and hit the bat slowly while Matthews was through the shot far too early. This resulted in an easy return catch and a dream start for Adelaide, striking with the first ball of the innings.
MARVELLOUS MCGRATH
After Tahlia McGrath took apart the Renegades’ bowling attack and smashed 64-not-out off just 44 deliveries, you could be forgiven for thinking she would be a lock for player of the match.
The innings included nine boundaries as the Strikers’ skipper cashed in during the powerplay, finding the fence time and time again.
The 28-year-old manipulated the field placements with ease and propelled her side to a competitive total of 157.
But she was unluckily the best captain on the day as Molineux produced an innings for the ages.
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