Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin’s Melbourne Renegades Women got their second win in a row in the Women’s Big Bash League thanks to a brilliant batting display from captain Sophie Molineux against Adelaide Strikers Women at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday.

The Renegades, chasing 158 for victory, found themselves 52-5 in the ninth over when Molineux came to the crease to join Dottin.

The pair put on a crucial 79 runs before Dottin fell for 20. Seven runs later, Molineux fell for a match-winning 32-ball 64 including nine fours and three sixes.

Eventually needing six runs off the final over, Nicole Faltum and Sarah Coyte guided the Renegades to victory.

Darcie Brown, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Jemma Barsby took two wickets, each, for the Strikers in their efforts to defend what looked like a match-winning total.

Earlier, captain Talia McGrath led the way with 64 off 44 balls including eight fours and a six while Orla Prendergast supported well with 31 as the Strikers made 157-5 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.

Molineux took 2-39 from her four overs while Georgia Wareham and Alice Capsey split two wickets. Matthews and Dottin when wicketless in seven overs between them.

West Indies women's skipper Hayley Matthews is expecting improved performances in the upcoming season of Australia’s Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) after she secured a contract extension with Melbourne Renegades ahead of the October 27 to December 1 tournament.

It will be Matthews' third season with the Renegades, who initially contracted the Windies star ahead of WBBL|08 then selected her with pick No.3 in last year's inaugural overseas player draft.

By virtue of selecting the world-class all-rounder, Renegades became the fourth club to lock in an overseas signing ahead of the WBBL|10 draft under the new signing provisions introduced by the league this year.

The 26-year-old led the club in the absence of injured captain Sophie Molineux last season, but it was a tournament the Renegades would rather forget after winning just two games and finishing at the bottom of the table.

Matthews' performances with the ball were one bright spot of that campaign, and she finished as their equal-leading wicket taker with 14 scalps for her off-spin, while she scored 255 runs at a strike rate of 114.34.

“I’m super excited to be back with the girls; I'm confident I can play a massive role within the team and help put up some really good performances and hopefully lead us to a finals series. The main thing I can appreciate about this club is the way they bring me in and make me feel so welcome. I can step back into what feels like a massive family,” Matthews said.

"We haven't achieved what we've wanted to the last couple of years, but with some key members back and some new additions cooking up as well, I'm confident we can go out there and put it all together. One of the biggest things for me, after not having the best seasons with the Renegades in my first two years, I definitely feel like I want to go out there and give the club a lot more,” she added.

Matthews will strengthen a Renegades batting line-up that is also set to welcome back captain Sophie Molineux this summer, after the Australia all-rounder missed the entirety of last season as she recovered from a ruptured ACL.

The absence of Molineux and fellow injured Australian star Tayla Vlaeminck was a major factor in the Renegades' struggles last season, while their high-profile overseas trio of Matthews, Harmanpreet Kaur and Tammy Beaumont did not reach the heights expected of them with the bat.

“It hampered us not having our full squad together for either of the two years I've been there; just having Sophie around the group again is going to be such a plus,” Matthews said.

“I saw what she was able to do at the WPL, the way she was able to go out there and express herself and just be free. We're super excited to have her back at the Renegades and hopefully doing even better,” she noted.

Matthews, who has been signed under the league's new multi-year, pre-draft contract provision, will also join an enviable Renegades spin brigade, with her off-spin complementing Molineux's left-arm orthodox and Georgia Wareham's leg-spin. The trio of international stars, will be accompanied by rising off-spinner Ella Hayward.

The Renegades pre-draft signing of Matthews means they part with their Platinum selection (pick No.3), leaving picks 11, 22, and 27 for the draft set to be held in September.