Sophie Ecclestone smashed a boundary off the final ball to seal a four-wicket win for Adelaide Strikers over Hobart Hurricanes in a last-ball WBBL thriller at Bellerive Oval on Tuesday, leaving the defending champions still searching for their first win of the season.
Chasing 139, the Strikers needed 12 runs off the final over after a superb Hurricanes fightback had dragged the game back from a position that had looked comfortable for the visitors. Laura Wolvaardt fell to Molly Strano with 10 still needed from four balls, but Ecclestone held her nerve, hitting two fours in the over. The second came with exactly four needed off the last delivery, a chip over mid-off that raced away to break Hurricanes hearts. Ecclestone finished unbeaten on nine off three balls, with Amanda-Jade Wellington one not out at the other end.
Hurricanes captain Nicola Carey had earlier anchored the home side’s innings with an unbeaten 66 off 53 balls, her second successive fifty of the tournament. Lizelle Lee began the innings with a four but was trapped leg-before by Ecclestone after hitting her for two fours in the opening over, and Chamari Athapaththu struggled badly before being retired out for 10 off 26 balls. Carey herself was on 15 off 23 balls at that stage, but she found her range late, reaching her fifty in the 19th over with three fours off Tahlia McGrath. Hobart plundered 54 runs in the last five overs to reach 138 for five, with Ecclestone taking one for 37 and Madeline Penna one for 14.
The Strikers had begun the chase brightly, with Maia Bouchier taking three fours off Chinelle Henry’s first over as they reached 43 for one after the Powerplay. Opener Emma de Broughe, who made 41, and Wolvaardt carried them to 71 for one at the halfway mark, but Lauren Smith’s two for six and Strano’s two for 30 put the brakes on. Adelaide managed only 27 runs between overs 10 and 15, leaving 17 needed off the last two overs before Carey’s strike in the penultimate over set up the grandstand finish.
The defeat was Hobart’s fifth in a row this season and their second consecutive last-ball loss, after the no-ball controversy against Melbourne Renegades, leaving their finals hopes all but extinguished. For the defending champions, who lifted the title last season, the wait for a first win goes on. Adelaide, meanwhile, moved to two wins from four games, with de Broughe named player of the match. The WBBL continues on Wednesday, when Perth Scorchers face Sydney Sixers.
Related:
- Gardner’s 18-Ball Fifty and Devine’s All-Round Show Keep Sixers and Scorchers Perfect in WBBL — https://t20star.com/gardners-18-ball-fifty-and-devines-all-round-show-keep-sixers-and-scorchers-perfect-in-wbbl/
- Bassingthwaighte and O’Neil Seal Brisbane Heat’s Second Straight WBBL Win as Hurricanes Stay Winless — https://t20star.com/bassingthwaighte-and-oneil-seal-brisbane-heats-second-straight-wbbl-win-as-hurricanes-stay-winless/
