Nicola Hancock’s last-ball six went in vain as the Melbourne Renegades defeated the Brisbane Heat by seven runs (DLS method) to claim their first-ever Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) title on Sunday, December 1, in Melbourne. Defending a target of 98, the Renegades restricted the Heat to 90/6 in 12 overs.
This marked Renegades skipper Sophie Molineux’s second T20 league triumph this year, having previously won the Women’s Premier League (WPL) with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Earlier, batting first, the Renegades posted 141/9 in 20 overs. Hayley Matthews led the charge with a stellar 69 off 61 balls, including eight boundaries. Georgia Wareham and Naomi Stalenberg contributed 21 (21) and 16 (12) runs, respectively.
Chalri Knott led the bowling attack with three wickets, while Grace Parsons claimed two. Nicola Hancock, Lucy Hamilton, and skipper Jess Jonassen each took one wicket.
In reply, Jonassen fought valiantly with an unbeaten 44 off 28 balls, including one six and five boundaries, but couldn’t secure the win for her team. Georgia Redmayne and Nicola Hancock contributed 16 (15) and 13* (6), respectively.
For the Renegades, Hayley Matthews took two wickets, with Charis Bekker, Milly Illingworth, Sophie Molineux, and Deandra Dottin chipping in with one wicket each.
You can watch the video here:
For the very first time, the Melbourne Renegades are WBBL champions!#WBBL10 pic.twitter.com/mBbCTz62Da
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 1, 2024
“We didn’t panic”- Sophie Molineux discusses Melbourne Renegades’ impressive turnaround in the 2024 WBBL final
Melbourne Renegades skipper Sophie Molineux praised her team for their remarkable comeback despite defending a modest total in the WBBL final. Speaking during the post-match presentation (via ESPNcricinfo), she said:
“Pure elation, it hasn’t quite sunk it. Plenty of highs and a lot of lows. There have been plenty of people supporting us, good to get some smiles on their faces. It didn’t go to plan initially, but we didn’t panic.”
“We knew deep down we had the quality so we just had to level. Our coaches were magnificent and told us not to panic. It’s a real honor to captain this team, it means so much to me,” she added.
CHAMPIONS 🏆
The @RenegadesBBL lift the #WBBL10 title! pic.twitter.com/EeKBglYwgA
— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) December 1, 2024
List of WBBL Winners:
2016: Sydney Thunder defeated Sydney Sixers by three wickets
2017: Sydney Sixers defeated Perth Scorchers by seven runs
2018: Sydney Sixers defeated Perth Scorchers by nine wickets
2019: Brisbane Heat defeated Sydney Sixers by three wickets
2019: Brisbane Heat defeated Adelaide Strikers by six wickets
2020: Sydney Thunder defeated Melbourne Stars by seven wickets
2021: Perth Scorchers defeated Adelaide Strikers by 12 runs
2022: Adelaide Strikers defeated Sydney Sixers by 10 runs
2023: Adelaide Strikers defeated Brisbane Heat by three runs
2024: Melbourne Renegades defeated Brisbane Heat by seven runs
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