Kiwis In WBBL04: Stay Battlin'
On the back of a year filled with T20 struggles, it's no surprise that this has flowed into WBBL04 for our White Ferns. There are definitely some nice performances and Amy Satterthwaite appears to be nearing a patch of form, the slide of the White Ferns is now reflected in the lack of dominance from the kiwis in WBBL.
All the kiwis were in action this weekend; Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Sara McGlashan, Rachel Priest and Hayley Jensen. Jensen has snuck under the radar to get a run with Perth Scorchers and given that Jensen didn't take a wicket in two warm up games and the World T20 opener against India, she hardly demanded a WBBL crack this summer.
Jensen started with 2 wickets @ 7.50rpo to help restrict Melbourne Stars to 124/9, before Perth's top order did the job to reach 125/2 in 19 overs. In their second game of the weekend, again vs Melbourne Stars, Jensen hit 12* off 15 deliveries down the order and as that was the second highest score for Perth, they could only manage 90/7 off their 20 overs.
Despite Jensen's best efforts in taking 2w @ 5.33rpo, the Stars got revenge and reach 91/6 in 15.3 overs to snatch the win. Jensen has immediately put herself into the wicket-taking mix and of all the bowlers to take 4+ wickets, Jensen has bowled the fewest overs (7).
With Sophie Devine not playing in Adelaide Strikers' first game vs Sydney Thunder, Suzie Bates dragged her Strikers team to a competitive 132 all out with 79* off 60 balls. Only one other Adelaide batter reached double figures, making Bates' knock super duper crucial and this was countered by Rachel Priest hitting 58* off 46 balls to help guide the Thunder to 134/4 in 17.3 overs for victory.
It doesn't get much better than two kiwi openers hitting 50+ with strike-rates over 120 in the same game and we were then treated to the return of Devine for the second fixture. Devine and Bates got the innings flowing with Bates hitting 17 off 13 and Devine 23 off 17, before some solid middle order knocks saw the Strikers reach 145/5 off their 20 overs.
Priest is fairly inconsistent (when she's on, she's on) and got a golden duck to start the run-chase for the Thunder. With Devine bowling 3.2 overs, getting a wicket but conceding 11.40rpo, the Thunder strolled to victory in 18.2 overs and Adelaide were left with two losses from the weekend.
With Sydney Sixers boasting a stacked top order, Sara McGlashan plays her role perfectly in the middle order and this was beautifully evident in both of the Sixers wins over Hobart Hurricanes. In the first game, McGlashan simply had to finish the chase, with the Sixers on 146/3 in the 14th over chasing 152 from 15 overs. An efficient finisher, McGlashan hit 8* off 3 balls to steer the Sixers to victory. McGlashan then hit 7* off 2 deliveries in the second game, coming to the crease in the final over and doing her job to bump the Sixers total up to 158/3.
Hobart were unable in their pursuit of the Sixers target and finished the weekend with two losses vs the Sixers. McGlashan on the other hand, had a strike-rate of 266.66 in the first game and then 350 in the second game and while she only faced 5 balls, McGlashan played her role to perfection when chasing as well as setting the target.
Melbourne Renengades only made one appearance this weekend, losing to Brisbane Heat. Brisbane were first to bat and went large with 174/8 from their 20 overs, while Lea Tahuhu and Amy Satterthwaite were ineffective. Satterthwaite went for 9rpo from her 3 overs and although Tahuhu did take a wicket (8.66rpo), it was a lower order wicket after much of the damge had been done.
Satterthwaite then hit her highest score of WBBL04 with 38 off 33 deliveries, opening the batting. The Renegades were steady in their chase, however with Satterthwaite's knock their best contribution, it was never going to be enough and they were left stranded on 153/7 from their 20 overs. Tahuhu chimed in with 6 off 5 down the order.
I still view Satterthwaite as the most interesting kiwi in WBBL04 as she's hit an almighty form slump this year, especially in T20 cricket and especially since taking over the White Ferns captaincy. Through her first 3inns in WBBL04, Satterthwaite had scores of 9, 8 and 0 before passing 30 for the first time in T20 cricket (WBBL and internationals) since June 28 when she hit 37 vs England.
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Peace and love 27.