The next big thing in Australian cricket pilots Melbourne Stars to crushing win

Teenager Annabel Sutherland showed why she’s the next big thing in Australian cricket with a blistering knock for the Melbourne Stars.

Teenager Annabel Sutherland was in awesome form for the Melbourne Stars on Wednesday. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

The bottom to top triumph the Melbourne Stars hoped for when they lured Meg Lanning back home and got T20 master Trent Woodhill in as coach is looking more and more likely.

The green team has never made the WBBL finals in five seasons and last year finished second last. But on Wednesday the Stars cemented top spot on the table with a crushing win over the Hobart Hurricanes.

Lanning didn’t do much damage with the bat, leaving it to teen star Annabel Sutherland, who pounded a season-high 72 runs, before the bowlers ground the Hurricanes batting line-up into the ground.

The victory was the Stars’ eighth from 12 matches, with just one loss and three no results, in a season of dominance so far that has put them in the best position ever to go all the way, with two games to go.

Sutherland’s hitting helped the Stars reach 3-159 from their 20 overs, and the Hurricanes were never really in the hunt, falling 41 runs short.

The loss makes Hobart’s task of making the finals nearly impossible as they sit second last on the table, with just three wins and two games to go.

THE KNOCK:

Sutherland was coming off three single figure scores, having not passed four in those innings, when she was thrown in to bat at number three for the Stars.

The teenage all-rounder then lived up to the wraps that have plenty predicting her to be Australia’s next star with a run spree that included five fours and two sixes in her match-high score of 72 off just 51 balls.

It was the highest score of any Stars batters this WBBL season, which is some feat given captain Lanning has scored five 50s.

THE MOMENT:

Katherine Brunt took one to the tooth when she managed a special juggling catch on the boundary for the Stars.

She’d already done her job with the ball, taking two wickets, before managing to watch the ball into her hands while teetering close to the boundary line.

Brunt bobbled the ball into her face, then back into her hands and, while she needed a bit of treatment for a wobbly tooth, stayed on the field to enjoy the big win.

Katherine Brunt is tough as nails!

She cops a nasty blow to the face, tidies up her lip and comes straight back on 💪 #WBBL06 pic.twitter.com/hz9KeWyBeB

— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 18, 2020

THE SPELL:

Holly Ferling only needed two overs to make her mark at Hurstville Oval.

Brought on in the 10th over, with Hobart trying to get their chase going, Ferling conceded just three runs, one of which was a wide, to make the Hurricanes’ job so much harder.

Ferling’s next over only went for five, and she claimed a wicket, as the task for Hobart proved too hard and she finished with 1-8.