The WBBL’s batting big guns have dominated ahead of a pivotal clash between top sides Hobart and the Melbourne Stars.
Meg Lanning is not a player to be given a life and the Stars opener made the Renegades pay dearly for a dropped catch in Saturday afternoon’s local derby at Junction Oval.
The Australian legend went on to top-score with 73 not out as the Stars scored their fourth-straight win, easily beating last season’s champions by 45 runs.
The Stars’ first win in four derbies gave them top spot, one point ahead of the Hurricanes who will host the Stars on Monday night in a massive clash.
Having lost the series lead, Hobart was set a task on Saturday night at home. Beth Mooney top-scored with 75 and paced the Perth Scorchers to 5-186.
But English stars Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt combined for a blistering second-wicket partnership of 135 that settled the issue.
Wyatt-Hodge, the second-highest run-scorer this season behind Lanning, made 55 and Sciver-Brunt led with 81.
The Hurricanes, who had lost their previous two games, quickly regained top spot with the third-highest score of the season, reaching 3-189 with five balls left.
It was also the season’s highest successful run chase, eclipsing their own 4-182 on day one against the Sydney Thunder.
Lanning given a life
Earlier, Lanning was on 27 in dreary conditions when she cut Sarah Coyte to Deandra Dottin at backward point.
Dottin grassed the straightforward chance, and it proved a pivotal moment in the game.
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The previous ball, excellent glovework from Nicole Faltum had Amy Jones stumped off Georgia Wareham for 43 to break a dangerous stand of 62 with Lanning.
Lanning hit seven fours and a six in her 58-ball knock as the Stars scored 5-160.
Captain Annabel Sutherland whacked two sixes off consecutive balls from Coyte on her way to a quickfire 27.
In the same over, Alice Capsley and Naomi Stalenberg collided when chasing a ball, and Lanning contributed a third six off the hapless Coyte.
The Stars’ Georgia Prestwidge caught the Renegades’ malaise, dropping an easy chance from Dottin on the first ball of the innings.
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But fellow opener Courtney Webb spooned the easiest of return catches to Marizanne Kapp soon after, and the Renegades lost wickets steadily.
They were dismissed for 115 off 16.3 overs.
Sasha Moloney took a scorching catch at backward point to claim the crucial wicket of Wareham for a first-ball duck off Maisy Gibson.
Dottin and Faltum made 23 and Gibson claimed 3-17 from 2.3 overs.
The undoubted shining light for the Renegades in the dreary conditions was Milly Illingworth, who snared 3-19 from four overs.
The Stars will now lose Kapp to South African international duties, while Sophie Molineux was a key absentee for the Renegades.
AAP