Melbourne Renegades 119 all out (de Broughe 40, Gibson 4-25, Smith 3-17) lost to Hobart Hurricanes 212 for 3 (Lee 101*, Graham 55*, Wareham 2-30) by a margin of 93 runs.
With a strong century in the Hobart Hurricanes’ record-breaking victory over the Melbourne Renegades, South African opener Lizelle Lee has preserved the team’s chances of advancing to the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) finals.
In the match on Thursday, Hobart amassed 212 for 3, surpassing their previous greatest WBBL innings score by 16 runs, driven by Lee’s 101 not out off 53 balls. The Renegades fell apart at the end, losing 4 for 3 and being dismissed for 119 after 16.2 overs after having scored 23 off their opening two overs. They also lost three wickets for seven runs. The Hurricanes’ largest WBBL victory margin of 93 runs propelled them from sixth to fifth position, within a point of the fourth-place Brisbane Heat. One more game remains for all three teams.
With her strong blows, Lee peppered the legside boundaries with 12 fours and 4 sixes, mashing the Renegades onslaught. She made contributions in partnerships of 55 with Nicola Carey (24 off 23) and Elyse Villani (22 off 14), as well as a match-turning partnership of 102 off just 46 balls with Heather Graham (55 not out off 28).
In the last over, Graham hit her first half-century of the WBBL season with a six off the penultimate ball of the innings, while renowned big-hitter Lee reached her third WBBL ton and her first for the Hurricanes.
In the sixth over, Georgia Wareham took two wickets in her first three balls of the spell, momentarily forcing the Renegades into play. However, the Hurricanes reclaimed control when they executed their Power Surge immediately following the mid-inning beverage break. The slow outfield cost them several more runs, but they still scored 14 off each of the first two overs and carried on with their assault for the rest of the innings.
The top order of the Renegades was broken by South African pacer Shabnim Ismail (2–21), while the remaining runs were taken out by spinners Maisy Gibson (4–25) and Amy Smith (3–17). Smith achieved her highest WBBL stats by taking all of her wickets in a single over.
In addition to her batting prowess, wicketkeeper Lee also claimed the wicket of Indian sensation Harmanpreet Kaur for a third-ball duck with an outstanding legside catch. The only batter for the Renegades to make an impression was Emma de Broughe (40 not out off 19), who played some exquisite offside drives among her eight boundaries.
