The Women's Big Bash League's 12th season opened at Junction Oval, St Kilda, Melbourne, on Thursday, October 29, as Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars won the tournament's first matches under its newly installed light towers.
In the afternoon match, Sydney Thunder Women chased down Melbourne Renegades Women's total of 9-138 to win by six wickets, finishing at 4-140 with 18 balls to spare and taking the first points of the new WBBL season.
Thunder allrounder Anika Learoyd took 4-26 with the ball and ran out a Renegades batter as Melbourne Renegades Women batted first, then scored 48 off 37 balls with nine fours as Thunder chased down the target.
Learoyd said after the match that the win came down to belief. "Probably a little bit of belief, I think," she told Fox Cricket.
Thunder batter Heather Knight finished unbeaten on 29 off 22 balls, putting on 62 runs with Learoyd for the third wicket. Teammate Nadine de Klerk was unbeaten on 12 off six balls as the Thunder completed the chase.
Georgia Voll scored 25 off 18 balls for the Thunder, including the only six of the innings.
Learoyd praised her teammate afterwards. "She was great, wasn't she? The true allrounder," she told Fox Cricket.
Thunder bowler Tayla Vlaeminck took 2-23 with the ball. It was her first wicket in five seasons disrupted by injury.
Melbourne Renegades batter Hayley Matthews top-scored with 45 off 30 balls in the losing total. Teammates Courtney Webb and Georgia Wareham made 22 off 24 and 23 off 19 respectively, but the Renegades lost five wickets for two runs in seven balls across the 17th and 18th overs as the innings fell away.
In the evening match, Melbourne Stars Women beat defending champions Hobart Hurricanes Women by 18 runs. The Stars posted 4-192 off their 20 overs before bowling the Hurricanes out for 8-174.
Hobart won last season's WBBL|11 title by beating Perth Scorchers in the final.
Stars captain Meg Lanning scored 71 off 52 balls, her 35th half-century in WBBL cricket. Stars allrounder Annabel Sutherland hit 57 off 26 balls, and the pair added 109 runs together for the third wicket.
Sutherland also took 3-34 with the ball as the Stars bowled Hobart out in reply.
Hurricanes batter Lizelle Lee scored 57 off 33 balls, striking nine fours, before she was caught by Lanning at short cover.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, signed by Hobart as a replacement for the injured Danni Wyatt-Hodge, was out for 10 off eight balls, bowled by Stars bowler Kim Garth.
Heather Graham played her 150th WBBL match in the win. She scored 20 runs with the bat and dismissed both Lanning and Sutherland with the ball.
Charlie Dean took 1-13 off her four overs for the Stars.