Sixers hold their nerve to seal first WBBL|09 win

Ashleigh Gardner held off a late Renegades charge led by Georgia Wareham and Sarah Coyte, helping seal a six-run win to open the Sydney Sixers’ account in Weber WBBL|09.

The Renegades looked well out of their pursuit of the Sixers’ 7-164 at 7-107, needing 58 runs off 26 balls.

But Wareham (30 from 21) and Coyte (21 from 10) hammered 26 runs off the 18th over to set up a thrilling finish.

With 22 runs required off the last two overs, Coyte holed out before Wareham struck another boundary, leaving 13 to get off Gardner in the last.

The Australian leg-spinner has crafted a reputation as a damaging finisher of late but when she was bowled by Gardner (2-37) to leave 10 needed off three, it was beyond No.11 Sara Kennedy on debut.

Earlier the Renegades had made a flying start thanks to opener Tammy Beaumont, who hit seven fours and two maximums in a 24-ball 43.

But when Maitlan Brown (2-26) removed both Beaumont and Hayley Matthews in the space of three balls, the momentum sapped out of the Renegades’ chase.

Josie Dooley (19 off 19), Harmanpreet Kaur (8 from 13) and Jess Duffin (1 from 4) could not get going, leaving it to Wareham and Coyte to try and save the game in the final overs.

Teenage wicketkeeper Kate Pelle continued to impress filling Alyssa Healy’s role behind the stumps, including a sharp direct-hit run out to remove Kaur.

Earlier, Ellyse Perry (50 from 41) and Gardner (37 from 30) made starts for the Sixers but when both fell midway through the innings, the Sixers looked unlikely to reach 150.

Then came powerful South African Chloe Tryon to the rescue, as she smacked 41 off 16 balls – including three sixes in the final over of the innings – to power the Sixers to 7-164.

The result leaves both teams at 1-3 after four games, with the Sixers in fifth spot and the Renegades in sixth on the ladder.

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