‘I felt like I was letting the team down’: Molly Strano’s surprising admission after claiming catch of the summer in WBBL

It was the catch that threatened to break the internet on Thursday night. But Molly Strano was the only person not losing it.

While the rest of the country was admiring one of the best WBBL catches we’ve ever seen, Molly Strano was just happy she could contribute something for the Hurricanes on Thursday night, conceding “I was letting the team down with the ball” in her side’s loss to the Thunder.

Strano has taken 35 catches in her illustrious WBBL career, but it’s going to be hard to find a better one than her caught and bowled to remove Thunder opener Chamari Athapaththu, who scored 38 in her side’s 5/146 at North Sydney Oval.

She looked on track to reach 50 but her innings ended abruptly when she whacked a ball down the ground, only for Strano to stick out her right hand and claim the catch just centimetres off the pitch.

OH MY GOD MOLLY STRANO ARE YOU KIDDING? THAT IS RIDICULOUS!#WBBL10pic.twitter.com/PW5xLWa8Mj

— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) October 31, 2024

“From a caught and bowled perspective, it’s probably (the best I’ve ever taken),” Strano told the NewsWire after the game.

“It’s hard to compare the reactionary catches compared to outfield catches, but that was definitely in my top three for caught and bowled.

“It’s one of those catches where it just has to stick. Sometimes you just throw out your hand and hope. Sometimes you’re a bit shell-shocked that it actually did stick.”

Strano is one of just three bowlers in WBBL history to take 150 wickets, which is one of the reasons she didn’t celebrate too hard, but you could tell after the game that she wasn’t overly thrilled with her own performance in the 33-run loss.

The experienced spinner conceded 41 runs from her three overs and gave up 20 in the power surge.

“I was pretty disappointed in my bowling throughout the game, so that’s why I probably didn’t show too much emotion because I was pretty flat with how I was performing for the team,” she said.

“I felt like I was letting the team down with the ball today.

“I was glad that one was able to stick and I was able to see the back of her because she was starting to get going and was looking ominous.”

The Hurricanes have back-to-back matches in Melbourne this weekend as they look to bounce back from their loss to the Thunder. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

The Hurricanes had their moments with the bat but fell well short of the target, but they have the chance to make amends this weekend with games against the Heat and Stars.

“There are a few things we need to tidy up in all three departments, but it’s nothing drastic,” Strano said.

“I don’t think we’re far off. We were nowhere near our best (against the Thunder) and in the end we weren’t that far off from chasing it down.

“We’re not too disheartened. The Big Bash is a rollercoaster with so many games in quick succession in different cities, so we’ll bounce back.”

Originally published as ‘I felt like I was letting the team down’: Molly Strano’s surprising admission after claiming catch of the summer in WBBL