Melbourne: Sydney Thunder opened the WBBL 2026-27 season in style on Thursday, beating Melbourne Renegades by six wickets in the first match of a double-header at Junction Oval — and it was Georgia Voll, with bat, ball and in the field, who decided the game.
Chasing 139, Thunder reached 140/4 in 17 overs, with 18 balls to spare. Anika Learoyd top-scored with 48 off 37 balls, hitting nine boundaries, and put on 62 with Heather Knight for the third wicket to break the back of the chase. Knight finished unbeaten on 29, with Nadine de Klerk 12 not out, as Thunder sealed the win with room to spare. Voll herself had earlier made 25 off 18 balls, including Thunder’s only six of the match, before falling to Tess Flintoff.
Earlier, Renegades had looked comfortable. Openers Courtney Webb (22 off 24) and Hayley Matthews put on 56 for the first wicket, and Matthews blasted 45 off 30 balls to take the side to 76/1 at the midway point. But Matthews holed out in the deep off the first ball of the 11th over, and the innings unravelled from there. Renegades steadied briefly to 117/4, then lost five wickets for two runs in the space of seven deliveries across the 17th and 18th overs as Voll wreaked havoc with her off-spin.
Voll finished with 4/26 and had a hand in a run-out as Renegades were restricted to 138/9 from their 20 overs. Georgia Wareham’s 23 off 19 was the only other meaningful contribution after the top order, and the collapse left Renegades defending a total well below par on a good Junction Oval surface.
There was one bright spot for the Renegades in defeat: the return of Tayla Vlaeminck. The fast bowler, playing her first WBBL game in five years after a long injury layoff, bowled with genuine pace and finished with 2/23, removing Learoyd and Laura Harris late in the chase. She looms as a key weapon for the Renegades this season — but only if her teammates give her bigger totals to defend.
For Thunder, it is the ideal start to a season in which they will expect to challenge for the finals. Captain Phoebe Litchfield (14) fell early, but the middle order did its job, and the bowling attack, led by Voll, showed the discipline that wins tight T20 games. The second match of the opening-day double-header, Melbourne Stars against defending champions Hobart Hurricanes, followed at the same venue.
Read the full season guide: https://t20star.com/wbbl-2026-27-full-schedule-squads-new-rules-and-players-to-watch-as-season-starts-october-29/
Brief scores: Melbourne Renegades Women 138/9 in 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 45, Georgia Wareham 23; Georgia Voll 4/26) lost to Sydney Thunder Women 140/4 in 17 overs (Anika Learoyd 48, Heather Knight 29 not out; Tayla Vlaeminck 2/23) by 6 wickets.
