The Renegades have won four on the trot, but the Sixers and Thunder remain the team to beat as the WBBL enters the home stretch.
Melbourne Renegades v Hobart Hurricanes
Molineux backed up her fantastic match against the Stars with a second straight player of the match performance.
The boundaries were flowing thick and fast off the bat of Sophie Molineux in the first over! đź’Ş@CommBank | #WBBL04 pic.twitter.com/wazJeAGyav
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) January 3, 2019
Once again, the Hurricanes’ batting left plenty to be desired. Corinne Hall managed to bring their total to a respectable mark of 115, but their top order’s constant run-scoring issues mean that their lower order are being relied on far too heavily.
Melbourne’s spin-first approach worked wonders again, with their four spinners combining for 4/67 off 13 overs.
The chase couldn’t have started any better, with Molineux smashing consecutive boundaries off the first two deliveries of the match. She ended up scoring 14 runs in an eventful first over but holed out to deep mid-wicket on the last ball of the over. From there the Renegades never looked like losing, and they got the runs with eleven deliveries to spare.
Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers
Harris and Dooley were again the stars with the bat for the Heat, who recorded a comfortable victory over Adelaide in Mackay.
Brisbane’s innings very much resembled their match earlier in the week against the Hurricanes, with Grace Harris hitting runs at the top of the order to set up the innings before Dooley finished it.
Seriously, how do you keep @189Grace out of the game?! đź’Ş
— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) January 5, 2019
Epic fielding X2 from the @HeatWBBL superstar! #WBBL04 pic.twitter.com/IgMEghlqbG
On paper, the Strikers bowling attack looks to be one of the most diverse and talented in the competition, but they have undoubtedly underperformed this season. Dani Hazell and Tahlia McGrath are both conceding over eight runs an over for the competition. Sarah Coyte has been economical but has taken just three wickets for the tournament.
It was the same old story with the bat for Adelaide, whose openers combined for a 75-run partnership before the rest of the order fell apart to end the innings on 7/117.
The composition of the squad has to be reassessed for next season, with some specialist batters desperately needed. While Tabatha Saville and Bridget Patterson are promising, neither of them look like being able to craft an innings of much significance, which leaves plenty of pressure on the openers.
Given that nearly their entire line-up can bowl, replacing a specialist bowler or two with top order batters would seem like a logical move.
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