The Snapshot: In the Renegades 50th match as a WBBL club, captain Amy Satterthwaite won the toss and sending the Stars to bat. Normally known for her form with the bat, today Satterthwaite produced a Player of the Match-performance with the ball, finishing with figures of 3-16 off three overs, the best of the home side.
Molly Strano - playing her 50th game for the Renegades - also wreaked havoc in the final over. Strano was involved in the fall of the Stars' final three wickets of their innings, which left them all out for 130 runs with one ball to spare.
It took some time for the Renegades to find their rhythm with the bat, however a 55-run partnership between Satterthwaite (37 runs off 33 balls) and Claire Koski (26 off 19) steadied the ship and the Renegades looked on track to a steady victory. However, with the dismissal of Koski in the 13th over the wickets began to tumble, and it came down to the final over of the game.
With nine wickets down, Courtney Webb and Lea Tahuhu were at the crease. The pair survived three appeals for a run out, before Tahuhu hit the winning run with one ball to spare.
The Key Moment: It definitely wasn’t the prettiest cricket, but the final over of today’s match was something for WBBL folklore. To set the scene, the Renegades were at 9-128 at the beginning of the final over. The equation was 3 runs for victory, with Courtney Webb and Lea Tahuhu at the crease. Stars’ captain Kristen Beams took the ball for the final over and the field was set tight.
The first ball was to Tahuhu, played to mid off for a run, which Webb took, but not without a huge appeal for a run out by the Stars. Ball two of the over was played by Webb for a dot. Same for ball three. Ball four was played by Webb to cover, who pushed for a run. Again the Stars pleaded with the umpire for a runout at the striker’s end, but Tahuhu was declared safe. Ball five of the over was all up to the Renegades’ number 11, Tahuhu. She worked it through to gully for another single, and despite another huge appear for a runout at the striker’s end, the fairytale was to end in the Renegades’ favour, who took a thrilling one-wicket win.
The Key Player: Whilst perhaps not the standout player on the field for the day, it would be remiss without mentioning Molly Strano and her role in being the heart and soul of the Renegades both on and off the field. Today’s game was the 50th for the Renegades as a WBBL club, but also the 50th match for Strano in Renegades’ colours – an incredible achievement. In taking to the field against the Stars today, Strano also became the first Renegades player – male or female – to play 50 games.
Up Next: The Renegades will once again come up against the Stars, this time in a New Years’ Day Derby double-header across town at the Stars’ home; the MCG. Play commences at 2.50pm.