Strikers roll Stars for 29 in record WBBL trouncing

Adelaide Strikers launched their Weber WBBL championship defence with one of the most emphatic wins in the tournament's history, humbling Melbourne Stars for 29 after posting a thumping 3-177 to triumph with more than 10 overs to spare.

While the batting effort was impressive from the time opening pair Katie Mack and Laura Wolvaardt piled on a stand of 135, the bowling return was stunning as seamer Megan Schutt (3-3) and leg spinners Amanda-Jade Wellington (3-4) and Anesu Mushangwe (2-12) dismantled their rivals' top-order.

As the reigning champs flexed their collective muscles, the Stars are now left to regroup after the promise generated by their first-up win over Sydney Sixers quickly evaporated as they not only claimed the unwanted record, but rather obliterated the previous lowest benchmark which was a comparatively respectable 66.

It was also easily the largest defeat by runs in tournament history, easily eclipsing the 104-run margin between the Scorchers and Renegades last season. 

Sent into bat on a chilly evening with a blustery sou-wester whipping across Karen Rolton Oval, injured fast bowler Darcie Brown displayed last year's championship trophy before her teammates set about showing the form that carried them to that prize.

Led by a record-breaking opening partnership between Mack (86 off 50 balls) and Wolvaardt (47 off 36), the home team set the Stars a daunting target of 178 at the rate of almost nine an over.

That seemed an even more distant task when Stars' talismanic skipper Meg Lanning – who completed a polished 55 in her comeback appearance last Thursday – went for one in Australia teammate Schutt's opening over, failing to clear the mid-wicket boundary with a languid flick.

The insurmountable became the impossible after Mushangwe, who had taken the new ball in just her second WBBL outing, had Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsley slicing catches to the in-field next over.

Any faint hope the Stars held at 3-14 rested with allrounder Annabel Sutherland, but vanished in Schutt's next over when she holed out to Mushangwe to effectively end the contest in the fourth over of Stars' run chase.

Mushangwe was replaced by fellow leggie Wellington who joined the party by removing Maia Bouchier with her first delivery, then knocked over Kim Garth five balls later to reduce the Stars to a barely credible 6-16.

When keeper Nicole Faltum became Schutt's third victim, the only solace Lanning's team might have taken was they had at least overtaken the lowest-ever domestic T20 total which remains Sydney Thunder's 15 (also against Adelaide Strikers) in last year's BBL.

But at 8-18 when Wellington rattled Rhys McKenna's stumps, the previous lowest WBBL total of 66 (shared by Hobart Hurricanes and Brisbane Heat in WBBL|2 and 3 respectively) was almost as distant as memories of their first-up victory.

The end came in the 10th over when skipper Tahlia McGrath picked up her second wicket to complete a 149-run demolition that puts the rest of the competition on notice with their title defence on song from ball one of their batting innings.

Their opening duo's stand of 135 is the highest for any wicket by Adelaide Strikers, surpassing the 131 opening effort posted by Bridget Patterson and Sophie Devine – also against the Stars – at Adelaide Oval in WBBL|04.

From the moment Mack upper-cut consecutive boundaries from in-form Australia seamer Kim Garth's initial over, she did not put a foot wrong she dragged her back one out of the crease and was stumped.

Having scored an unbeaten 95 at the same venue for ACT Meteors in this season's inaugural round of the WNCL, the 30-year-old took not time to gauge the pace of Rolton Oval's new drop-in pitch and raced to 50 from just 27 balls faced.

She then took successive boundaries from teenage quick Milly Illingworth's first two balls, as Wolvaardt also joined the party having played support act to her opening partner during the initial scoring frenzy.

At one stage, Wolvaardt – who played in South Africa's final T20I against New Zealand at Benoni last Sunday and only arrived in Adelaide on Tuesday evening to prepare for WBBL|09 – boasted five off eight balls faced while Mack was unbeaten on 40 off 22.

During the drinks break midway through the Strikers' innings, Stars skipper Meg Lanning engaged in a lengthy chat with coaching staff trying to find a way of separating the pair who had carried the score to 0-99.

Lanning's concerns only compounded first ball after the break when Wolvaardt (on 28) drop-kicked spinner Sophie Day to long-off where Rhys McKenna turfed the chance as she dived forward.

But Day struck back soon after when Wolvaardt holed out to long-on, and then deceived Mack with flight to have her caught out of her crease two balls later ensuring both set batters were back in the shed just as the Strikers looked to accelerate.

The 25-year-old accounted for all three Strikers wickets to fall when she lured Patterson into a mis-stroke, but a typically brutal 34 from 19 balls by Adelaide captain Tahlia McGrath carried her team to their highest total since WBBL|05.

Strikers’ next game is against Melbourne Renegades at CitiPower Centre next Monday, before tonight's teams reconvene for the bruised Stars’ next encounter at the same ground the following day.

Weber WBBL|09 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	14	11	3	0	0	1.154	0	22
2 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	14	8	6	0	0	0.784	0	16
3 Brisbane Heat Women HEA	14	8	6	0	0	0.203	0	16
4 Sydney Thunder Women THU	14	7	6	0	1	0.298	0	15
5 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	14	7	7	0	0	-0.253	0	14
6 Hobart Hurricanes Women HUR	14	6	7	0	1	-0.597	0	13
7 Melbourne Stars Women STA	14	6	8	0	0	-0.779	0	12
8 Melbourne Renegades Women REN	14	2	12	0	0	-0.978	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points