WBBL: Meg Lanning misses out again as Stars’ finals hopes hang by a thread

With just three games to go before the finals, hopes of one of the WBBL favourites are hanging by a thread as batting woes pile up.

Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine of the Perth Scorchers smashed the Melbourne Stars in Adelaide (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

The Melbourne Stars have just three games left to stake their claim for a return to the WBBL finals after a batting capitulation in Adelaide helped the Perth Scorchers entrench themselves in the top four.

What the Stars hoped would be a batting revival from skipper Meg Lanning after she elevated herself to open lasted just one innings, and her dismissal for one sparked a horror collapse from the green team in Adelaide.

Battling for form early in the tournament, Lanning decided to put herself up top, and a barnstorming 82 off just 45 balls against the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday was the first time the Australian skipper had passed 30 in 10 innings, taking in the series against India.

But Lanning missed out again, and as the struggles of rising star Annabel Sutherland continued – she has six single-figure scorers in nine WBBL innings – Melbourne’s quest not to just beat Perth but to make the finals looked tough.

The Stars could only manage 9-97, a score never enough for Kiwi superstar Sophie Devine. She and the world’s best T20 batter Beth Mooney chased the runs in an absolute canter, winning with a massive nine overs to spare.

Sophie Devine smacks a six onto the hill at Karen Rolton Oval! Sounds familiar...

Strikers move to 0-71 after 7 overs #WBBL07pic.twitter.com/ogcmPuwDKH

— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 10, 2021

Mooney, now the leading run scorer this WBBL season, made an unbeaten 57 and Devine, who also took two wickets, made 35 as the Scorchers reached the target in the 11th over without losing a wicket.

The two points the Scorchers earned lifted them to equal second on the WBBL table, potentially needing just one or two more wins from their last four games to secure a finals spot.

Lanning and the Stars, who have now won just four of 11 games, have less than 24 hours to contemplate their immediate future before having to front up again on Thursday against the table-topping Melbourne Renegades.

Originally published as WBBL: Meg Lanning misses out again as Stars’ finals hopes hang by a thread