Heat hold off fast-finishing 'Gades in entertaining clash

Brisbane Heat have held off fast-finishing Melbourne Renegades outfit led by Georgia Wareham to seal a six-run win in their first game of Weber WBBL|09.

Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne laid the foundation as the Heat made the most of their ultra-deep batting line-up to post 9-187 despite no player passing fifty.

The Renegades’ star international batters likewise made starts without anyone going on to a significant score in the chase, but nonetheless took it down to the final over after No.6 Wareham pummelled 36 off 16 balls.

Needing an unlikely but not impossible 23 runs off the final over, Wareham cleared the boundary but was then sharply caught by Heat skipper Jess Jonassen, whose nerves of steel at the death again came to the fore.

While Renegades captain Hayley Matthews was the form batter of the recent Australia v West Indies internationals, it was opening partner Tammy Beaumont (34 off 18) who immediately looked at home in her return to the CitiPower Centre, hammering two sixes and four fours.

The introduction of Charli Knott (3-33) to the attack did the trick for the Heat, as she removed first Beaumont, and then Matthews, in the same over, before English leggie Sarah Glenn (4-23) entered the fray, bowling Josie Dooley for 13.

The Renegades were 3-93 at the midway point of their innings with India superstar Harmanpreet Kaur just getting set – and she was given a life on 18 when Mignon du Preez put down a chance in the deep.

Courtney Webb (12 off 16) got tied down and hit out in frustration to give Knott a third, and while Kaur looked to escalate after the Renegades took the power surge, she was given out lbw to Glenn on 31 to leave the hosts 5-120.

Glenn made it two in two when she bowled Erica Kershaw a ball later, but Jess Duffin – making her return after missing WBBL|08 while playing AFLW – fended off the hat-trick delivery.

With 68 runs needed from 33 balls something special was required from Wareham and Duffin – but just as the latter looked to get going, she fell to a stunning one-handed return catch from Glenn.

Earlier, Harris was in an ominous mood to start the tournament, smacking back-to-back sixes from Ella Hayward’s off-spin in the second over of the match.

The Heat raced to 0-46 off the four-over power-play and the hard-hitting Harris smacked eight boundaries in total, but her charge towards a half-century ended on 49 when she was caught in the deep off the bowling of Wareham (1-41).

Well poised at 1-94 midway through their innings, the Heat took the power surge but it was the Renegades who hit back, with Matthews removing Georgia Voll (10) and recruit du Preez (1) in the same over.

Bess Heath (19 off 9) got going with four boundaries in one Sarah Coyte over off before edging behind to give Georgia Prestwidge her first.

With no Laura Harris in the middle-order – the powerful batter is nursing a calf injury and a timeline for her return remains unclear – it was Knott (23 from 12) and Mikayla Hinkley (17no from 8) who provided the late boost for the Heat.

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