Adelaide Strikers continue their hot WBBL form, notching up third consecutive win thanks to the bat of Sophie Devine
Sophie Devine starred again with the bat as Adelaide Strikers marched to their third consecutive WBBL win. But it was the team’s miserly bowling unit that really stood out.
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Sophie Devine’s simply divine big bash form has continued, as she notched up her fifth consecutive WBBL half-century, leading Adelaide Strikers to a six-wicket win over Sydney Thunder in Wollongong on Wednesday.
The Strikers’ third straight win cements their second place on the ladder as they head to Hobart for a tough double-header against the Hurricanes and Thunder at Blundstone Arena on Saturday and Sunday.
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Adelaide’s third consecutive win was also Devine’s third straight player of the match performance and her matchwinning 62 not out (58 balls) was built on the back of two sixes and six fours.
But Devine’s performance aside, it was Adelaide’s bowlers who shone brightly.
The economy of the Strikers bowling unit that has been a real talking point this WBBL season and with good reason; inswinger Megan Schutt now leads the entire competition as its most economical bowler, with Devine ranked seventh.
At Wollongong’s north Dalton Park, Schutt bowled 0/15 from four overs and reduced her overall economy rate further, with it now sitting at a stunning 4.95 from the 40 overs she’s bowled in 10 games.
The bowlers, including Devine’s 1/21, kept the Thunder to under a run a ball for their entire innings, and the 4/112 they finished with proved a target the Strikers’ batters chased down without ever really hitting their straps.
After the Thunder elected to bat, the slower pace of the green wicket troubled them, with opener Rachel Priest swinging and missing. In the first five overs the Thunder were restricted to an incredible 0/15, with a run rate of only three.
Sarah Coyte, playing her 50th WBBL game in Adelaide’s electric blue, took a wicket with her first ball, having opener Alex Blackwell chop back onto her stumps and going into the eighth over, the Thunder were at only 1/26 with a run rate of 3.71.
But a low run rate in the first half of an innings doesn’t really matter if you have stacks of wickets in the shed prepared to strike, and the Thunder had bucket loads of fire power waiting to come in, including Pakistani star Nida Dar (AKA Lady Boom Boom), and teenage sensation Phoebe Litchfield.
Still, runs were difficult to come by. Priest looked just the player to lift the run rate when she finally hit her strides, hitting a whopping six followed by a well-time four, until Amanda-Jade Wellington knocked over her stumps and her innings came to an end on 31.
In an interesting move by the Thunder, current Australian batter Rachel Haynes was dropped from opener to fourth in the order and it suited her. Her unbeaten 33 from 27 balls is her highest score so far this WBBL and she also topscored for the Thunder.
However, the Strikers miserly bowling continued right until the end.
With a run rate of 5.60 to chase, openers Suzie Bates and Devine – known as the “Smash sisters” for their penchant for big hits – got the innings underway with a series of quick singles, before they both went “bang”, Devine hitting three consecutive boundaries.
Their 53-run partnership came to an end when Bates was out for 22 (25 balls) and the next three batters followed their captain back to the dugout quickly, none scoring more than eight runs, with Dar taking 2/24.
At about this point, the Strikers’ bench might have been slightly jittery, with 30 runs needed from 30 balls, but the level head of Devine helped ease the pressure despite the wickets falling around her and the winning run was hit with five balls to spare.