Women’s Big Bash League match review: Melbourne Renegades v. Sydney Thunder at Melbourne (Docklands)

Another Saturday, another televised afternoon of the best thing since sliced bread women’s T20 cricket. The bottom-of-the-table Melbourne Renegades put themselves into bat against league leaders the Sydney Thunder at the open-roofed Docklands Stadium.

Needing to come out firing, Kiwi wicketkeeper Rachel Priest and South African batter Dane van Niekerk combined for a mammoth opening partnership of sixty-eight. They hit over the top during the powerplay, assisted by the pacy outfield, with van Niekerk hitting left-arm pacewoman Lauren Cheatle for a six (the only one of the match) in the fourth over, then a pair of fours two overs later.

Priest survived a stumping appeal which was sent upstairs, before her opening partner lofted a short ball to mid-wicket on twenty-nine. Danni Wyatt was the next batter in, and copped another knock to her body while stationed at the non-striker’s end before spinner Maisy Gibson clipped the top of her bails with a leg break.

Having made 5/86 in last week’s MCG derby, the Renegades took 12.2 overs to get to 2/86 this week, and Priest brought up her fifty with little fanfare in the fifteenth over. Captain Sarah Elliott made a quick-fire eighteen before being stumped; Kris Britt followed her into the pavilion the following over after being caught at cover.

Priest went off the first ball of the penultimate over, caught by Gibson at square leg for fifty-seven from fifty-five balls, twenty of those runs coming from fours. A late-innings collapse saw one Renegades’ batter run out and two more caught lofting the ball high into the infield. The power hitting of Priest, van Niekerk, and Elliott, who hit eleven fours and a six between them, had ensured that the hosts would set their opponents a target of 140.

Unable to find their rhythm, the Thunder’s batting line-up wilted under the hot Melbourne sun. The Docklanders opened the bowling with off-spinner Molly Strano, who dismissed both opening batters in the third over: Rachael Haynes bowled for three and Jamaican import Stafanie Taylor l.b.w. for seven, leaving the sirens from the Siren City reeling at 2/13.

Naomi Stalenburg was out shortly afterwards, skying a ball to short third (wo)man. The Thunder were 3/27 at the end of the powerplay, but corvopolitan captain Alex Blackwell and partner Nicola Carey steadied the ship. Carey fell to a Sophie Molineux l.b.w. in the ninth over, Claire Koski and Charlotte Anneveld also coming and going in quick succession. Blackwell then combined with tail-ender Rene Farrell, executing a wide array of power hits, ramp shots, and switch hits.

The Sydneysiders kept going, but failed to make the target chaseable going into the final overs. Molineux and Strano dismissed Farrell and two more tail-enders, before Blackwell ended her captain’s knock of forty-five when she was caught and bowled by her opposite number Elliott.

Winning by thirty-six runs, the Renegades belied their status as the league’s cellar-dwellers, putting on a fine exhibition of cricket. This blog particularly enjoyed the contribution of the petite Pretorian van Niekerk: a superb innings at a strike rate of 120.83, the only six of the match, and some fine work in the field, including a spectacular last-over dive at deep square leg to deny Blackwell a six of her own.

Melbourne Renegades 8/139 (20 overs) (Rachel Priest 57; Dane van Niekerk 29; Belinda Vakarewa 2/13; Nicola Carey 2/23) – Sydney Thunder 103 (19.4 overs) (Alex Blackwell 45; Rene Farrell 18; Sophie Molineux 3/18; Molly Strano 3/20)