Sutherland blasts Stars to win amid injury blow

Annabel Sutherland has blasted the Stars to a stunning come-from-nowhere victory in the Melbourne derby, but the thrilling finish was overshadowed by a potential serious injury to Renegades captain Sophie Molineux.

Needing 23 to win from the final over to reel in the Renegades' 8-148, Sutherland (62no off 29) hit three sixes as the Stars edged home by five wickets on the final ball.

The first two of those sixes came off the spin of Molineux, whose knee appeared to buckle as she bowled the second of those deliveries.

The 25-year-old clutched her left knee and had to be assisted from the ground.

Georgia Prestwidge delivered the remainder of the over, with her first legal delivery dispatched over the rope by Sutherland, leaving just two runs required from the final two balls.

The victory was much-needed for the sixth-ranked Stars, who remain a mathematical chance of advancing to the finals with four games remaining.

However the injury to Molineux – state captain of the majority of the Stars players – cast a pall over the celebrations, with Sutherland hurrying to console her mate in the rooms following the match.

The left-arm spinner, who missed the Ashes and World Cup while sidelined for eight months with a stress fracture in her foot before returning in The Hundred in August, is set to undergo scans in coming days with updates to follow.

"(Staying focused) was hard. Soph's one of my close mates and you never want to see anyone get injured on (the) cricket field, so fingers crossed she's okay," Sutherland said after the match.

"But there was a job to do as well, so I had to stay in the zone and just get the job done, so glad that we were able to get across the line.

"It was tough because we were hitting into the wind down the ground, so I needed to hit it pretty clean to clear the rope.

"Luckily enough I was able to do that a few times."

The Stars now head to Latrobe in Tasmania for two games in two days against the Hobart Hurricanes which will be make or break for their faint finals hopes.

The Renegades had looked on track to secure their third win of WBBL|08 as they turned the screws on Sutherland late in the game.

A canny decision to deploy the Decision Review System after Sarah Coyte struck Lauren Winfield-Hill on the pads had paid off, with the umpire reversing his decision and sending the English opener on her way for 12.

Fellow English batter Alice Capsey never quite got going, holing out for a run-a-ball 11, and countrywomen Bess Heath – who came into the Stars squad in place of departed Indian Jemimah Rodrigues – laid a promising foundation before falling for 31.

Tess Flintoff (5) was promoted with the Stars seeking an injection of aggression but the move did not pay off when she was bowled by Coyte. 

Sutherland’s arrival however did mark a distinct shift in momentum; she went hard after teenage spinner Ella Hayward in the Power Surge, striking two sixes and a four in a 22-run over.

The Renegades held their nerve, Coyte collecting a third when Kim Garth (16) chipped a catch to backward point, before Matthews and Shabnim Ismail turned the screws as the boundaries dried up – that is, until Sutherland’s incredible final-over blitz.

Earlier, Dooley led the way with the bat for the Renegades after they were sent in by their cross-town rivals.

When Chamari Athapththu fell to Sasha Moloney without scoring in the second over of the game, Dooley arrived to join West Indies star Hayley Matthews.

Matthews, as she has throughout the season, looked on song early as she struck four boundaries, but her 14-ball stay in the middle ended on 19 when she was bowled by Moloney.

Molineux’s stay at the crease lasted just three balls before she miscued to hand a simple catch to Capsey off the bowling of Sutherland, leaving the Renegades 3-28.

Courtney Webb (24 off 19), Carly Leeson (12 off 16) and Erica Kershaw (11 off 10) made starts, but it was Dooley’s 46-ball knock combined with a late flurry from Sarah Coyte (15no off six) that steered the Renegades to 8-148.

Moloney was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-15, while Sutherland picked up 3-37.

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