SYDNEY – West Indies Women’s pair of captain Stafanie Taylor and fellow all-rounder Hayley Matthews failed to make an impression, but their side contrasting results in the latest round of matches in the Women’s Big Bash League on Sunday.
Taylor was part of the Strikers side that held on grimly to land a 14-run win over the highly-fancied Sydney Sixers, and Matthews failed to spark for the Hobart Hurricanes, and they stumbled to a 10-wicket loss against defending champions Brisbane Heat in a low-scoring contest in a double-header at Drummoyne Oval.
In the day’s opening match at the venue, Taylor scored four from nine balls before she was bowled by South African Dane van Niekerk in the 13th over, after the Sixers put the Strikers into bat.
Tegan McPharlin, batting at eight, hit the top score of 41 for the Strikers to carry them to 119 for eight from their allocation of 20 overs, after top Australia all-rounder Elyse Perry undermined their batting and was the pick of the Sixers bowlers with three for 14 from her allotted four overs.
Taylor failed to take a wicket and conceded 11 from her only over, but the rest of the Strikers’ attack – led by Australia Women’s internationals Megan Schutt and Sarah Coyte – did well to restrict Sixers to 105 for nine from their 20 overs.
Schutt was the most successful Strikers bowler with a giddy three for seven from her four overs and fellow pacer Coyte grabbed two for 23 from her four overs.
In the second match at the venue, Matthews made eight from 10 balls before she was dismissed in the fifth over to trigger a Hurricanes batting collapse, sinking from 25 without loss in the fourth over to 82 all out in 17.5 overs.
Australia Women’s left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen was the pick of the Heat bowlers, taking two for eight from three overs. Amelia Kerr and Nicola Hancock supported with two wickets apiece.
Georgia Redmayne hit a run-ball 61 and dominated an opening stand of 86 – unbroken with Grace Harris to race the Heat to victory with 50 balls remaining.
The results meant that the Heat and Sixers are in a three-way tie in the eight-team competition with Sydney Thunder on 10 points.
But the Heat are third under the tie-breaker rules, followed by the Thunders and the Sixers with the Strikers in sixth on nine points and Hurricanes in seventh on eight points.
The two Windies Women will come face-to-face on Tuesday, when the Hurricanes meet the Strikers at Hurstville Oval.
CMC