Melbourne: Perth Scorchers defended a modest total of 124 to beat Melbourne Stars by 15 runs in a low-scoring WBBL contest at Junction Oval on Monday, with veteran allrounder Sophie Devine and legspinner Alana King sharing seven wickets between them.
Put in to bat after Stars won the toss, Scorchers struggled throughout their innings on a two-paced pitch and in drizzly conditions. They slipped from 70 for 2 to 76 for 7, and only reached 124 for 9 thanks to small contributions down the order. Alana King top-scored with 18, captain Beth Mooney — who has assumed the captaincy from long-serving skipper Devine — made 17, and Chloe Ainsworth chipped in with 16. For Stars, Maisy Gibson took 2 for 10 and Sophie Day 2 for 17.
The chase began badly for the hosts. Ainsworth took a stunning diving catch to dismiss Amy Jones for 18, and Devine then removed Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland for a duck. When England captain Charlie Dean was brilliantly stumped by Mooney for 13, Stars were in trouble — but captain Meg Lanning held the innings together with a classy 41, the only significant resistance in the chase.
Lanning’s dismissal, falling to make it 79 for 5, turned the match decisively. Stars lost their last five wickets for just 30 runs as Devine and King took control of the closing stages. Devine, 37, hit the deck hard to finish with 4 for 19, including the key wickets of Sutherland and Dean, while King claimed a double-wicket maiden in the 18th over to finish with 3 for 17. Stars were eventually bowled out for 109 in 18.1 overs, falling 15 runs short with 11 balls remaining.
King’s own afternoon had an unusual moment: she was run out for 18 after slamming a shot into her own foot and being unable to run. It did not matter in the end, as her bowling — along with Devine’s — proved the difference between the sides.
The victory took Scorchers to second in the early-season standings with two wins from as many matches, while Stars sit fifth with one win from three outings. For Scorchers, it was a win built on bowling discipline rather than batting firepower: on a night when no batter passed 20 in their innings, their attack defended 125 as if it were a par score. For Stars, the defeat will sting — they had Scorchers at 76 for 7 and still could not chase down a below-par target, with Lanning left without support at the other end.
Scorchers will take huge confidence from a second straight win built on their bowling depth, while Stars must find batting answers quickly before their early-season slide becomes a pattern.
Read our latest WBBL report here: https://t20star.com/gardners-blistering-124-powers-sixers-to-87-run-wbbl-win-over-hurricanes-after-early-collapse/
Brief scores: Perth Scorchers 124/9 in 20 overs (Alana King 18; Maisy Gibson 2-10, Sophie Day 2-17) beat Melbourne Stars 109 in 18.1 overs (Meg Lanning 41; Sophie Devine 4-19, Alana King 3-17) by 15 runs.
