Captain Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin both had significant contributions with the ball to help the Melbourne Renegades secure their third win in a row in the Women’s Big Bash League on Friday.

Matthews took 2-27 from four overs while Dottin took 2-32 from her four overs to help restrict the Melbourne Stars to 161-8 from their 20 overs in pursuit of their target of 171 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sarah Coyte also bowled well with 2-13 from her two overs.

Rhys McKenna and Marizanne Kapp were the top scorers for the Stars with 34 and 32.

Earlier, the Renegades made 170-6 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.

Nicole Faltum made a career best 66* off 42 balls while Georgia Wareham and Georgia Prestwidge provided support with 34 and 23* off nine balls, respectively.

Matthews made 11 while Dottin made nine.

Kim Garth took 2-32 from her four overs for the Stars.

The win moves the Renegades level on points with the Sydney Thunder on 10 at the top of the table with the latter having a game in hand.

Hayley Matthews produced a strong all-round performance but it wasn’t enough to help the Melbourne Renegades avoid a 28-run defeat against the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League in Brisbane, Australia on Wednesday.

The West Indian skipper first picked up 2-21 from her three overs as the Heat posted 169-8 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat.

Matthews was supported by Sophie Molineux who grabbed 2-35 from four overs while fellow West Indian Deandra Dottin took 1-27 from her four.

Georgia Redmayne led the Heat with 44 while Laura Harris made 31.

With the bat, Matthews made a 23-ball 35 at the top of the order in support of Naomi Stalenberg who led the Renegades with 38.

In the end, they could only manage 141-9 from their 20 overs thanks to some excellent bowling from the Heat.

Player of the match Grace Parsons led the way with 3-22 from her four overs while Shikha Pandey took 2-27 from four overs in support.

The Renegades now have two losses in as many games this season and will look to bounce back on Friday when they face the Perth Scorchers in Melbourne.

For the first time since the 2022 season, Deandra Dottin will be a part of Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League after being selected by the Melbourne Renegades in the player draft on Sunday.

The Renegades will be the fourth WBBL franchise Dottin has represented in her career after previous stints with the Perth Scorchers, Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers.

Dottin, who was recently selected in the West Indies squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup set for October 3-20 in the UAE, will be reunited with Windies teammate Hayley Matthews with the Melbourne-based franchise.

Matthews will be looking to rebound from a tough 2023 season with the bat for the Renegades by her standards where she scored 255 runs in 14 innings at an average of 19.61 with no fifties and a highest score of 46.

She was better with the ball, taking 14 wickets at an average of 27.64.

The 2024 WBBL will run from October 26 to November 30.

The Renegades will play their first game against the Sydney Sixers on October 27 at the Adelaide Oval.

West Indians Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford were among a number of players selected by various franchises in the player draft for the 2024-25 edition of Australia’s premier T20 showcase, the Big Bash League, on Sunday.

Hope, picked in the BBL draft for the first time, will represent the Hobart Hurricanes.

He was their pick in the platinum category, with the influence of head coach Ricky Ponting, who was Hope’s coach at the Delhi Capitals in the 2024 IPL.

Rutherford, who will also be experiencing the Big Bash for the first time, was selected by the Sydney Thunder in the silver category.

All-rounder Fabian Allen was snapped up in the silver category by the Adelaide Strikers while Akeal Hosein, who took 15 wickets in 10 games for the Melbourne Renegades last season, will be representing the Sydney Sixers this time around as one of their pre-draft signings.

Barbados-born England all-rounder Jacob Bethell is also set for his first BBL stint after being selected by the Melbourne Renegades.

The 2024-25 Big Bash League will run from December 15 to January 26.

West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein made an instant impact, snatching two wickets in a stingy spell as Melbourne Renegades won only their second game in nine outings with a six-wicket victory over local rivals Melbourne Stars at Docklands Stadium on Saturday.

The 30-year-old, brought in for Renegades’ final two games of their underwhelming Big Bash League campaign, finished with two for 18 from four overs after being handed the new ball, helping to restrict Stars to 137 for eight off their 20 overs at Docklands Stadium.

Opener Shaun Marsh then struck an unbeaten 64 off 49 deliveries as Renegades chased down their target with 16 balls to spare, to post their first win in three games.

Choosing to bowl, Renegades reduced 37 for two inside the power-play, Hosein sending down the second over which cost just eight runs.

Hilton Cartwright, who top-scored with 38 from 30 balls, then held the innings together, first in a 31-run, fifth-wicket stand with Beau Webster (29) and then in a 27-run, sixth-wicket partnership with Imad Wasim (14).

Hosein knocked over Marcus Stoinis for two in the ninth over before accounting for Webster at the start of the 15th.

In reply, Marsh struck ten fours in engineering a 68-run, second-wicket partnership with Jake Fraser-McGurk (42) and a 46-run, unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Jonathan Wells (14 not out), to see Renegades comfortably home.

The Melbourne Renegades’ miserable eight-game losing streak in the 2023 Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) finally came to an end on Friday thanks to a dramatic two-run win over the Brisbane Heat at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.

Captain Hayley Matthews hit her highest score of the season with 46 while Emma de Broughe hit 42 to help the Renegades post 169-7 from their 20 overs after the Heat won the toss and elected to field.

Nicola Hancock starred with the ball for Brisbane with 4-20 from her four overs while Grace Harris took 2-16 from two overs.

The Heat’s chase then fell agonizingly short of their target, reaching 167-9 from their 20 overs.

Grace Harris completed an excellent all-round performance with a top score of 65 but she was the only Brisbane batter to pass 20 with Jess Jonassen (17) and Nicol Hancock (17) both coming the closest.

Sarah Coyte took 3-26 from her four overs for the Renegades while Georgia Prestwidge was also among the wickets with 2-43 from four overs.

Matthews took 1-29 from her four overs, including taking the responsibility of bowling the last over and defending just six runs to seal the Renegades’ second win of the season.

The Melbourne Renegades’ horrific run of form in the 2023 Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) continued on Saturday with a narrow four-run loss to the Melbourne Stars at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Saturday.

The Stars first posted 144-5 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Renegades.

Captain Meg Lanning, who recently retired from international cricket, top scored with 67 from 49 balls and got good support from Annabel Sutherland who hit 24 and Alice Capsey who made 23.

Sarah Coyte took 2-32 from four overs for the Renegades.

The Renegades then fell agonizingly short of their target reaching 140-6 off their 20 overs.

Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with 37 while Tammy Beaumont got 33 and Matthews got her highest score of the season with 32, just her second time going over 30.

Sutherland completed an excellent all-round game with 4-22 from her four overs to be named player of the match.

Hayley Matthews’ Melbourne Renegades suffered their seventh defeat in a row after being hammered by 10 wickets by the Perth Scorchers in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Saturday.

The Renegades were restricted to 133-5 off their 20 overs after the Scorchers won the toss and elected to field first.

Georgia Wareham led the way with 57* off 46 balls while Tammy Beaumont hit 24 against 2-14 off four overs from Amy Edgar.

Matthews made just eight from 15 balls.

The Scorchers then needed just 11.2 overs to reach 134-0 thanks to 70* off just 36 balls from captain Sophie Devine and 47* from Beth Mooney.

The Renegades remain at the foot of the table with just one win in nine games while the Scorchers are second with 12 points from their nine encounters.

The Hayley Matthews led Melbourne Renegades slumped to their sixth loss in a row and seventh in eight games in the 2023 Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) after a six-wicket defeat at the hands of the Adelaide Strikers at the Karen Rolton Oval on Wednesday.

Jess Duffin hit 54 and Harmanpreet Kaur 45 as the Renegades made 148-5 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

Tammy Beaumont also contributed 26 at the top while skipper Matthews made a first ball duck, continuing a lean run of form so far this season with just one score over 30 in her eight innings.

The five wickets were shared among five different Strikers bowlers.

Katie Mack (24), Laura Woldvaart (28), Tahlia McGrath (26), Bridget Patterson (36) and Danielle Gibson (17) then all got starts to help the Strikers reach 149-4 off 19 overs.

Georgia Prestwidge took 2-19 from her four overs while Matthews took 1-24 from her three overs.

The Renegades will next take on the Perth Scorchers on Saturday.

The Melbourne Renegades got their first win of the 2023 Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) campaign by dismantling the Adelaide Strikers by 86 runs at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Monday.

The Renegades, who tasted defeat in their season opener against the Brisbane Heat, posted 167-3 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Strikers.

The opening pair of Tammy Beaumont and captain Hayley Matthews put on just 19 before the West Indian went for 12 in the third over.

Beaumont and number three batter Josephine Dooley added 51 for the second wicket before Beaumont went for 30 in the ninth over.

One over later, Dooley fell for 23 to leave the Renegades 74-3.

An unbroken 93-run fourth wicket stand between Harmanpreet Kaur and Courtney Webb then propelled the Renegades to their total.

Webb led the way with a 34-ball 49* while Kaur ended 43* off 33 balls.

Zimbabwean Anesu Mushangwe was the Strikers most economical bowler with 1-21 in her four overs.

The Strikers then lasted just 14.5 overs before they were bowled out for 86.

Only skipper Talia McGrath (31), Laura Woldvaart (14) and Danielle Gibson (10) were able to reach double-figures.

Hayley Matthews (2-20 from three overs), Ella Hayward (2-18 from four overs), Georgia Wareham (2-23 from three overs) and Harmanpreet Kaur (2-11 from 1.5 overs) all played a part in the bowling effort.

Player of the Match Andre Russell’s six-laden half century and an MVP-like performance from Akeal Hosein helped steer Melbourne Renegades to a four-wicket victory over Brisbane Heat with four balls to spare in their Big Bash clash at Geelong on Wednesday.

Hosein took three wickets and scored a quick-fire 30 for Melbourne after Russell had bludgeoned them back into contention after a Michael Neser’s hat-trick had threatened to deny them victory.

Brisbane won the toss and chose to bat first but were two wickets down for 14 in the third over thanks to Mujeeb ur Rahman and Hosein who claimed the wickets of Max Bryant for five and Colin Munro for eight, respectively.

However,  knocks of 25 from Sam Billings, 29 from Matt Renshaw and an unbeaten Jimmy Peirson helped stage a recovery. However, after a partnership of 61 between Billings and Renshaw both were dismissed by Tom Rogers in the 11^th over as Brisbane slipped to 78-4.

It was soon 96-5 as Rogers dismissed Ross Whitely for 8 in the 15 over.

Hosein took the wickets of Neser (3) and James Bazley (0) in three balls in the 15^th over. Peirson smashed 45 from 30 balls with six fours to get Brisbane to a competitive 138-7.

Rogers ended with 4-23 while Hosein took 3-26 in another solid performance with the ball.

Melbourne’s relatively simple chase of just under seven runs an over, became extremely difficult when Neser ripped through the top order with just nine runs on the board.

He dismissed Sam Harper first ball and then Jake Fraser-McGurk from the final ball of the first over and then in his second dismissed Nic Maddinson for two and Johnathan Wells for a duck in consecutive balls of his second over to leave Melbourne facing defeat.

However, Russell and Aaron Finch staged a recovery would set the team firmly on the path to victory.

Russell hit two fours and six sixes and he and Finch put on 81 for the fifth wicket before he got out caught behind off Mark Steketee for 57 from 42 balls.

Hosein picked up from where Russell left off hitting two fours and two sixes in a 39-run partnership with Finch. He eventually holed out to deep midwicket for 30 from 19 balls off the fifth ball of Steketee’s final over with Melbourne needing just nine from seven balls.

Will Sutherland smashed Steketee’s last ball for a massive six over the midwicket boundary leaving Finch to hit the winning runs, a four over extra cover to seal with victory from Bazley’s second ball of the final over.

Melbourne’s third straight win means they have six points and only trail leaders Adelaide Strikers on net run rate.

Akeal Hosein and Andre Russell played key roles in the Melbourne Renegades opening its Big Bash League season with a 22-run win over Brisbane Heat at Cairns on Thursday.

Andre Russell has been signed by Big Bash League franchise Melbourne Renegades' as a replacement for Liam Livingstone, who has been called up by England for their upcoming tour of Pakistan.

The 34-year-old Russell, who was not picked by West Indies selectors for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, signed a limited contract that makes him available for four games for the Renegades. He had been overlooked in the BBL Draft in August in part due to his limited availability and high price tag.

The Jamaican will now play matches against the Brisbane Heat on December 15 and 21, Sydney Thunder on December 18 and Hobart Hurricanes in Hobart on Christmas Eve.

West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews’ top-score of 35 was not enough to prevent the Melbourne Renegades from a 21-run defeat against the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League in Mackay, Australia on Monday.

The Renegades won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved costly as the Heat’s Australian opening pair of Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne put on a mammoth 165 for the first wicket.

Harris scored a 50-ball 65 including six fours and a six while Redmayne remained unbeaten on 98 from 67 balls including 12 fours. Laura Harris was not out on eight alongside Redmayne as the Heat eventually posted 180-1 from their 20 overs. Matthews was expensive, conceding 40 runs from her four overs without picking up a wicket.

In their reply, the Renegades batted decently but fell short of their target in the end, finishing 159-6 from their 20 overs. Matthews was good at the top of the innings with a quick 19-ball 35 including six fours while Carly Leeson ended not out on 34 against New Zealand leg-spinner Amelia Kerr’s 2-27 from four overs.

Matthews’ Renegades are currently fifth in the eight-team table with two points from as many games.