Deandra Dottin’s boundary off the penultimate ball levelled the scores, and a no-ball call on the last delivery gave Melbourne Renegades a four-wicket WBBL win over Hobart Hurricanes in Hobart. Hayley Matthews made 59 and Sophie Molineux took 4 for 22, while Nicola Carey’s 62 went in vain.
Hobart, Australia: The Renegades won their first match of WBBL 12 in the strangest way possible. The scores were level, the players were gathering for what looked like a super over, and then the umpires ruled the last ball a no-ball.
Carey and Henry lift a slow Hobart start
Renegades chose to field, and Hobart made only 20 runs in the powerplay while losing two wickets in the first four overs. They reached 100 in the 15th over, then added 54 in the last five to finish on 154 for 7.
Carey, the Hurricanes captain, top-scored with 62 off 43 balls, hitting 10 fours. Chinelle Henry swung hard for 36 off 18 balls, including seven fours. Molineux was the pick of the Renegades bowlers with 4 for 22 from her four overs, Georgia Wareham took 1 for 23 and Matthews took 1 for 39.
Matthews builds the chase
Matthews answered with a fifty off 33 balls and finished with 59 off 44, hitting eight fours. Courtney Webb made 29 off 25, and the pair put on 50 in 33 balls. The Renegades reached 100 in 12.1 overs and looked in control at 1 for 101.
Then it fell apart. Heather Graham, who took 3 for 24, removed Matthews, and Carey added 2 for 30 in 3.5 overs while Molly Strano took 1 for 22. The Renegades lost five wickets for 37 runs and needed five off the last three balls.
A rare no-ball settles it
After a dot ball, Dottin edged the penultimate delivery to the third-man boundary to level the scores at 154. She then missed the last ball, and players began to gather as if the match were heading for a super over.
Replays showed that Hobart wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee had taken the ball in front of the stumps. The umpires called a no-ball, which gave the Renegades the winning run. They finished on 155 for 6 in 19.5 overs, with Dottin unbeaten on 15 off 11 balls and Nicole Faltum on 9 off 11.
The win gave the Renegades two points from three matches. The Hurricanes are still without a point after three games and sit at the bottom of the table, while the Sydney Sixers, Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder lead with four points each. The Sixers had won their own last-ball thriller against Brisbane Heat earlier in the tournament.
Result, WBBL 12, Match 9, Hobart: Hobart Hurricanes 154/7 in 20 overs (Nicola Carey 62, Chinelle Henry 36; Sophie Molineux 4-22) lost to Melbourne Renegades 155/6 in 19.5 overs (Hayley Matthews 59, Courtney Webb 29; Heather Graham 3-24, Nicola Carey 2-30) by four wickets.
