Sydney Thunder beat the Melbourne Renegades by six wickets at Junction Oval on Thursday in their Weber WBBL|12 season opener, with Georgia Voll claiming 4/26 to be named player of the match.
The result also marked the return of Hannah Darlington to WBBL cricket after two years out through knee injuries, with the seamer taking the first two wickets of the match.
Thunder elected to bowl first after winning the toss. Darlington removed the openers for the Renegades early in the innings, her first wickets in WBBL cricket since her injury layoff.
Voll's four-wicket haul restricted the Renegades total, and the Thunder bowling attack combined to set up the chase. Anika Learoyd then top-scored with the bat, making 48 off 37 deliveries to steer Thunder to victory with six wickets in hand.
Darlington said she was relieved to mark her comeback with a win.
"It feels really good to be back, let alone get a win in the first game back," Darlington said. "Super proud of the way we played and happy with those two wickets as well."
The seamer missed all of WBBL|11 in the 2025-26 season with a knee injury and took on an informal development and leadership role with Thunder during her recovery, one dubbed the club's "CEO". She underwent further surgery in March 2026 after a setback during her rehabilitation.
Darlington said there were times she doubted whether she would play again.
"This club genuinely means the world to me," she said. "There was a moment during that time where I didn't know if I was going to come back but I've had such great support from Lisa, Copes, Phoebe and everyone. I've had this date in my calendar for a while so it's nice to be officially back."
Thunder's next assignment comes on Sunday, November 1, against the Brisbane Heat in a double header at Drummoyne Oval, starting at 3.40pm AEDT.
The club's remaining group fixtures include two meetings with the Perth Scorchers on November 5 and 11, the Sydney Sixers on November 8 and 28, the Melbourne Stars on November 16, the Brisbane Heat again on November 19, the Hobart Hurricanes on November 21 and the Adelaide Strikers on November 26.