Collective effort behind Renegades' success: Matthews

Georgia Wareham and Hayley Matthews believe it's consistent performances from across the group that have propelled the Melbourne Renegades to their first-ever WBBL Final.

The side staged a dramatic turnaround from being the wooden-spooners last season to a top-of-the-table finish this year and have secured the home final at the MCG.

Both Matthews and Wareham (12th), along with captain Sophie Molineux, were on Tuesday named in the official Team of the Tournament for WBBL|10. 

Matthews has been a consistent all-round contributor for the Renegades over the last three seasons, as well as the stand-in captain on multiple occasions, and was pleased to see it result in team success this year.

"It's always ten times better when you are winning but yeah, I have been enjoying being a part of this group as well over the last three years," she said. 

"I'm really happy that we were able to give the Renegades a lot this year."

The Barbadian was equally thrilled for Molineux and Wareham and hailed their contributions to the side with both bat and ball.

"I think that's what's been so good about them is they've been able to contribute in both facets of the game as well," she said.

"Obviously, Soph missing a few matches and still being able to contribute so much to the team has been great.

"Wolf obviously has been a leader of the group quite some time now and yeah, I think these are things that you expect out of both of them.

"At the same time, I think the reason that we are in such a good position as a team is because of the fact that we've had so many people contributing and just everyone has played their role massively to get us where we are today."

Matthews said she was confident of her team's chances going into the Final, adding their familiarity with the venue – the Renegades beat the Stars in the Melbourne derby at MCG earlier in the season – would help them.

"The last time we played here against the Stars, I know we definitely had a good time out there in the field and I think the conditions suit us really well as a team," Matthews said.

Wareham shared the same sentiment.

"It's obviously a pretty big occasion, and obviously playing at the MCG, the history of the ground comes into it," Wareham said. 

"But the way we played the other day, the girls were running around and having fun and that's such a big part for our group. 

"I think when we're having fun, we're playing some really good cricket. Hopefully we can do that again on Sunday."

The Renegades will have the whole week to prepare for Sunday's Final as they wait to find out who their opponent will be.

Wareham said the unit would be balancing training with rest throughout the week to ensure they don't end up breaching their peak before the big game. 

"Having a full week lead up is a little bit different for us given how hectic the season has been, but it's just really exciting and we can soak it up and prepare really well and watch how the other games unfolds as we go," she said.

"I think a (it will be a) couple of rest days to start this week and sort of ramp up as we get going.

"It's really important for the group to be fresh by the time Sunday comes."

She was confident that the team could carry the momentum from their big wins at the end of the league stage into the Final, despite the big gap between games.

"In lead up to the last game, we had a few days off, so I don't think it impacts the group too much," she said, denying that facing a team that will come fresh off back-to-back wins can prove to be a disadvantage. 

"We're really aware of staying connected and trying to keep that momentum that we had at the end of the season and to take it through this week.

"The advantage we'll have is we'll be a lot more fresh than the other team, and obviously not having to travel anywhere also helps us out a little bit as well."

WBBL|10 Finals

The Knockout: Sydney Thunder v Hobart Hurricanes | Drummoyne Oval | Wednesday, November 27 at 7.15pm AEDT

The Challenger: Brisbane Heat v TBC | Allan Border Field | Friday, November 29 at 7.15pm AEDT, 6.15pm AEDT

The Final: Melbourne Renegades v TBC | MCG | Sunday, December 1 at 1.20pm AEDT

Grab your tickets or tune in on the Seven Network, 7Plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo or ABC and SEN radio

BKT Big Bash Tipping is back! Simply select who you think will win each match and you’ll be in with the chance to win $1k every week, plus KFC vouchers and signed merch. Join now