A century and two thrillers light up Spring Challenge Saturday

Meteors go two in two with dominating win over Stars

The ACT Meteors got their second scalp of the T20 Spring Challenge in as many starts, this time dismantling the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval.

After being sent in to bat by the Stars, the Meteors were able overcome a tough start to the innings losing opener Paris Bowdler the very first ball and slumping to 2-29 after three overs.

Captain Carly Leeson and Shivani Mehta had to dig deep to resurrect their side's innings, and after navigating a period where runs were hard to come by, the two batters went big in the back half of the innings.

Mehta was dismissed for 40 runs but did enough to help salvage the innings alongside Leeson, whose captain's knock of 68 not out earned her player-of-the-match honours and helped the Meteors reach a defendable total of 4-147.

With Meg Lanning opening the batting and starting strong with a six off just the second ball, the Stars seemed to have every chance to chase down the total set by the ACT.

It didn't take long for Meteors bowlers to put the Stars on the back foot however, with Angelina Genford dismissing Olivia Henry for a duck. Five balls later, Grace Dignam had the prized wicket of Lanning.

From there, Stars were never able to get going, losing wickets consistently and falling behind the required run rate to chase down the total. It went from bad to worse when a mix up between Rhys McKenna and Sophie Day saw McKenna sent back to the sheds and then Day bowled the very next ball by Holly Ferling.

Dignam ended the innings bowling Holly Spencer to finish with 3-16 while Ferling also contributed to the 38-run victory with her 3-35 helping make the Meteors the team to beat so far in the Spring Challenge.

Captain Piparo's heroics get Scorchers to unlikely victory over Renegades 

Chloe Piparo played a sensational knock to rescue the Perth Scorchers from the jaws of defeat and secure their first points of the tournament.

Chasing the Renegades' 3-169, the Scorchers were struggling on 3-38 when Piparo walked in to bat. Despite losing partners at the other end at constant intervals, she played a fearless innings to take her side home with three balls and a wicket to spare.

The 'Gades bowling unit led by captain Sarah Coyte (3-19), didn't allow the Scorchers top order to settle down.

At the 14-over mark, the asking rate had climbed over 10 and eight batters were back in the shed. With nothing to lose, Piparo started her charge, forcing errors on the field. Cameos from Lilly Mills and Charis Bekker helped the Scorchers' cause, putting the game back in balance.

When Bekker got out in the 18th over, Scorchers still needed 19 runs with just a wicket in hand. Piparo kept pushing for the strike and lofted Emma de Broughe for a six down the ground in the penultimate over.

Needing eight from the final over, the Scorchers skipper started with a boundary and followed it with a pair of doubles to make it home.

Earlier, after being sent in, the Renegades got into the groove quickly, racing to 40 from four overs.

The opening stand was broken on 67 in the ninth over by Bekker, who pouched a mishit by Courtney Webb. The left-arm orthodox bowler was charged up, running out Naomi Stalenberg and taking the wicket of de Broughe right after the opener got to her 50. 

The slow middle overs were spiced up by some drama when pacer Stella Campbell had to abandon her over after bowling two deliveries that were deemed dangerous.

Nicole Faltum and Hayward's unbeaten 51-run stand got the Renegades to a formidable total, with the former once again impressing with a well-made 44 off 27 after her player of the match performance on Friday.

Sixers edge out Heat in a thriller at NSO

The Sydney Sixers held their nerve to defeat the Brisbane Heat by three runs to earn their first win of the T20 Spring Challenge at North Sydney Oval.

The Sixers batted first after losing the toss and despite Kate Pelle faltering early in the innings, Elsa Hunter (39 off 29) and Mathilda Carmichael (41 off 39) were able to set the Sixers on their way to a competitive total of 5-147.

Kate Peterson and Frankie Nicklin closed out the innings, combining for 21 runs from the last two overs to set the Heat 148 runs to chase for the win.

Considering the Heat chased down 150 runs in just 12.2 overs the day before, it was going to take the Sixers' best effort with the ball to defend the total they had set.

The Sixers did get off to the best possible start when 15-year-old star in the making Caoimhe Bray bowled the dangerous Laura Harris in the first over.

The Heat were still in the box seat with Georgia Redmayne and Charli Knott at the crease before Juliette Morton got the breakthrough wicket of Knott, which was followed by the loss of Redmayne and Sianna Ginger two overs later.

From there on the Sixers kept the pressure on the Heat. In spite of Mikayla Wrigley’s quick fire 25 and some fight from Nicola Hancock, the Heat fell just short after requiring 12 runs from the final over.

Morton stepped up for the Sixers, claiming wickets at crucial moments on her way to the game's best figures of 3-16 to help her side to victory.

Lizelle Lee blasts a century to get Hurricanes the W

The Hobart Hurricanes showed the value of experience as senior pros Lizelle Lee (112*), Molly Strano (3-22) and Nicola Carey (3-23) powered them to a win over the Adelaide Strikers.

After getting Ruth Johnston, Carey and Hurricanes captain Elyse Villani out within the first 20 deliveries of the chase, the Strikers would have felt confident about their chances.

But Lee had other ideas. The South African did what she does the best – go for the boundaries. Between the seventh and 16th overs, Lee hit a four or a six every over to keep the scoreboard ticking over rapidly.

It was fitting that she brought up her century with a boundary – sweeping Jemma Barsby to fine leg in the 16th over.

While Lee was the aggressor, Strano, who came in on the fall of the fifth wicket, ensured she stuck with her, and their 52-run stand took the Hurricanes home with 11 balls to spare.

Having elected to field first earlier in the evening, the Hurricanes didn't allow any of the Strikers' batters to get going, with all their bowlers getting amongst the wickets.

In her effort to get on the charge, after getting a maximum, Ellie Johnston ended up hitting one straight to Villani in the third over.

Promoted to No.3, youngster Eleanor Larosa was the Strikers' highest scorer with 31, but those runs came in 38 balls.

The effort was clearly not enough, as defending a total of 137 was always going to be a tall ask on the Karen Rolton pitch.