Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne Stars

The Stars and Hurricanes played twice over the weekend and split the results, with the Stars winning a close first match before the ‘Canes hit back with a massive win the following day.

On Saturday, Hobart batted first, but they were in trouble early as Nicola Hancock and Annabel Sutherland had them 2/8 in the first two overs. That brought Engllish superstar Heather Knight to the crease, who showed exactly why the Hurricanes missed her so much last season.

She ended with 82 off just 55 deliveries, and her ability to find the boundary without taking unnecessary risks was a lesson for all youngsters. She had some help from Hayley Matthews and Corinne Hall, but the highlights were all from Knight, who belted two sixes on the second and third last balls of the innings to take Hobart’s total to 158.

Melbourne’s chase couldn’t have got off to a worse start, with last-start centurion Lizelle Lee facing out a maiden in the first over.

The Stars were struggling mightily at 4/23 when Erin Osborne and Mignon du Preez came together at the crease. Their partnership ended up winning the Stars the game, and after a slow start, they accelerated the innings perfectly until they needed just four runs off the last over.

The fifteenth over, bowled by all-rounder Erin Fazackerley, was incredibly costly for Hobart, with du Preez and Osborne taking fifteen runs off it.

The two teams met again on Sunday, but it was a very different story, with Hobart dominating from ball one.

Smriti Mandhana was the star early, but Fazackerley and Matthews found the rope too, and the Hurricanes had made 55 runs by the end of the powerplay. Mandhana (who scored a 24 ball fifty), Matthews and Knight continued their dominance, proving that Hobart have one of the best ensembles of international players in the competition.

Skipper Sasha Moloney showed that she might need to promote herself from number eight after 23 off 9 not out to round out a massive total for her side.

The Stars’ innings started off well, with opener Ange Reakes top scoring with 31 and giving the Stars a sniff in the powerplay. After that, though, the Stars innings spluttered and they ended up being bowled out for 124.

Knight proved her all-round value with 3/10 off three overs, including a brilliant one handed caught and bowled, but all of the Hurricanes’ bowlers took a wicket to form a solid bowling unit.