Lanning, bowlers power Melbourne Stars to the top
Meg Lanning carried Melbourne Stars to the top of the Women's Big Bash League 2026 points table as her team downed their city rivals Melbourne Renegades by 45 runs at the Junction Oval. Lanning's unbeaten 73 set the team up to post 160/5, after which the bowlers put in a combined effort to keep the chasers in check. Leg spinner Maisy Gibson picked three, Kim Garth snared a couple while four others chipped in with a wicket each for the Stars.
Rhys McKenna fell early after Stars were asked to bat, but Lanning pushed the team to 45/1 in the Powerplay. She and Amy Jones kept the boundaries coming until the 10th over when the latter was dismissed by Georgia Wareham. Annabel Sutherland then combined with Lanning for a 70-run stand off the next 43 balls. Sutherland and Lanning smashed three sixes in a 21-run 17th over from Sarah Coyte. Wareham dismissed Sutherland in the next over and kept the Stars to just 10 runs off the last 12 balls. The score, however, was enough as the Renegades couldn't get going in chase.
Renegades' attempt disintegrated in a jiffy as they lost Courtney Webb and Naomi Stalenberg inside the PowerPlay and then suffered a double-wicket blow in the seventh over, where they lost Alice Capsey and Wareham. Deandra Dottin attempted to push on, but she too was stopped in the 10th over, by McKenna. From 57/5, Tess Flintoff and Nicole Faltum threw their bats around briefly until the 13th over. Once this pair was separated, there was no real way back for the Renegades. Issy Wong hit two and a six in her 11-ball 20 but that was merely consolatory. Her run-out in the 17th over ended the Renegades innings on 116.
Brief Scores: Melbourne Stars Women 160/5 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 73*, Amy Jones 43; Milly Illingworth 3-19, Georgia Wareham 2-27) beat Melbourne Renegades 115 in 16.3 overs (Deandra Dottin 23, Nicole Faltum 23; Maisy Gibson 3-17, Kim Garth 2-18) by 45 runs
Nat Sciver-Brunt's 48-ball 81, featuring 12 fours and a six, powered Hobart Hurricanes to a seven-wicket win over Perth Scorchers and return to the top of the WBBL table on Saturday.
Sciver-Brunt's knock anchored a commanding chase of 187 after the early dismissal of Lizelle Lee and she found ideal support in Danielle Wyatt-Hodge. The pair stitched a 135-run stand for the second wicket that flattened the Scorchers' attack. Wyatt-Hodge's 38-ball 55 ensured the required run rate was never an issue and by the time both batters fell in the space of a few deliveries, Hurricanes were firmly in control. Nicola Carey and captain Elyse Villani closed out the chase with five balls to spare.
Earlier in the evening, Perth rode on Beth Mooney's polished 75 off 55 to post 186/5 at the Bellerive Oval. Freya Kemp chipped in with a lively 34 off 22 while Paige Scholfield's 13-ball 26* gave the innings a late boost. But Mooney's effort ultimately went in vain as Hobart's top order produced one of the most assured chases of the season.
Brief Scores: Perth Scorchers Women 186/5 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 75; Molly Strano 2-23) lost to Hobart Hurricanes Women 189/3 in 19.1 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 81; Sophie Devine 1-33) by 7 wickets.
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