Hat-trick, century headline thrilling WBBL Sunday

Sophie Devine has smacked a stunning century to set up an 81-run victory for Perth Scorchers over defending Weber WBBL champions Sydney Thunder.

After Devine's blazing 101 helped the Scorchers to 2-186, leg-spinner Alana King ripped through the Thunder's young batting line-up, taking a career-best 4-11 as the Sydney club were limited to 9-105.

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Devine was at her best throughout her 60-ball innings, clearing the boundary six times as she reached triple figures from just 58 deliveries.

Her 173-run opening stand with Beth Mooney, who struck a 65-ball 54, was the second biggest in the competition's history behind Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 199 for Sydney Sixers.

The powerful New Zealander could not surpass her previous highest WBBL scores – the 103 she hit for the Scorchers last season and the 103no she scored for the Strikers in WBBL|02 – when she was finally dismissed for 101, but it mattered little as the Scorchers finished on 2-186.

Thunder captain Hannah Darlington rotated through seven different bowlers but found no one able to stem the flow of runs from the star Scorchers openers.

In reply, the inexperienced Thunder battling line-up faltered in the face of the mammoth target.

India star Smriti Mandhana loomed as the key, but when she was well caught by Taneale Peschel for nine off the bowling of Lisa Griffith, an already tough task became even more difficult.

Young gun Phoebe Litchfield was the bright spot, hitting a 34-ball 24, and new opener Tahlia Wilson hit 15 in her return from injury, but it was all about King, who picked up the wickets of Wilson, Sammy-Jo Johnson (0), Corinne Hall (5) and Anika Learoyd (4) to complete her four overs with figures of 4-11.

Harmanpreet Kaur shines as Renegades stun Sixers

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur starred with bat and ball as the Melbourne Renegades outclassed the Sydney Sixers by seven wickets.

An all-spin powerplay from the Renegades reaped the rewards; skipper Sophie Molineux removed Shafali Verma for a golden duck, before the off-spin of Harmanpreet had Ashleigh Gardner (7) caught behind and Alyssa Healy (5) caught and bowled.

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From 3-12, Sixers captain Ellyse Perry went about the rescue job with Nicole Bolton (38 off 41).

Perry hit just nine runs from the first 25 balls she faced but she accelerated late in the innings, hitting 41 off the next 26 as she finished unbeaten on 50 from 51 balls.

But it was an all-round dominant display from the Renegades' spinners and medium pacers, who covered the major loss of injured leg-spinner Georgia Wareham to restrict the Sixers to 4-118.

Harmanpreet (2-17) led the wicket-taking, while off-spinner Ella Hayward (0-21) was economical in her return to the XI.

In reply, Eve Jones replaced Molineux at the top of the order and the move paid off, with the English left-hander finding the boundary four times and clearing it once on her way to 38 from 30 deliveries.

It took a disastrous mix-up between Jones and opening partner Jemimah Rodrigues to gift the Sixers their first wicket, with the India star run out for 14.

Courtney Webb (23 off 25) joined Jones to steer the Renegades chase and while the England import was undone by the pace and bounce of Stella Campbell in the 10th over, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur picked up where she left off.

A late hiccup which saw Radha Yadav take a sharp return catch to dismiss Webb was not enough to derail the Renegades' chase, as Kaur smacked back-to-back sixes off spinner Ashleigh Gardner to seal victory with 18 balls to spare.

It was not all bad news for the Sixers, who welcomed back Lauren Cheatle for her first match of the season as the left-armer took the new ball, finishing with 0-17 from two overs in her first elite match since March.

Both teams now travel to Perth, where they will meet in a rematch at Lilac Hill on Saturday.

Heat hold on against Strikers despite Brown hat-trick

Adelaide Strikers's unbeaten start to the Weber WBBL season has come to an end despite Darcie Brown's hat-trick, as Brisbane Heat won their weather-shortened game by five runs.

While rain and a wet outfield delayed the start of play, fears of a repeat of Saturday's complete washout were abated when the Invermay Park match got underway with 11 overs a side.

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A blazing half-century from Laura Wolvaardt was not enough for the Strikers to chase the Heat's 5-104, with the Strikers kept two 4-99 after Heat skipper Jess Jonassen took two wickets in as many balls. 

Georgia Redmayne (28 from 14 balls) and Grace Harris (16 from 11) handed their side a fast start, before Brown intervened with three wickets in three balls in the sixth over.

First, Redmayne mistimed her pull shot and holed out to deep square leg, before debutante Ellie Johnston skied a shot to mid-on for nine.

When Laura Kimmince was caught at fine leg, Brown became the sixth player, and the first from the Strikers, to take a WBBL hat-trick.

However the Heat overcame the mini-collapse, with teenage allrounder Georgia Voll smacking an unbeaten 31 from 17 balls, with two fours and two sixes, to take the Heat to 5-104.

Brown finished with 3-28 from her three overs, while Sarah Coyte became the league's leading wicket-taker when she snared 2-19.

South African openers Dane Van Niekerk (24 from 22) and Woolvardt (54 from 30) then had the Stirkers on track at 0-68 in the eighth over, but Jonassen stepped in to swing the momentum back in the Heat's favour with two wickets in two balls.

She trapped Van Niekerk lbw for 24, then took a diving return catch to remove in-form Adelaide captain Tahlia McGrath for a golden duck.

Jonassen opted not to bowl again, denying herself the chance of a hat-trick. 

Woolvardt was the key for the Strikers, but she departed shortly after reaching her half-century.

Coyte and Amanda-Jade Wellington needed 18 from Adelaide's last over, but Nicola Hancock held her nerve to restrict the Strikers to 4-99.