Home Cricket News Lizelle Lee’s century keeps Hurricanes alive in WBBL finals race

Lizelle Lee’s century keeps Hurricanes alive in WBBL finals race

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Lizelle Lee’s century keeps Hurricanes alive in WBBL finals race


Hobart Hurricanes 212 for 3 (Lee 101*, Graham 55*, Wareham 2-30) beat Melbourne Renegades 119 (de Broughe 40, Gibson 4-25, Smith 3-17) by 93 runs

South African opener Lizelle Lee has kept Hobart Hurricanes’ hopes of reaching the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) final alive with a powerful century in a record-breaking effort by the hosts against the Melbourne Renegades.

Boosted by Lee’s 101 not out off 53 balls, Hobart piled up 212 for 3 in Thursday’s match, eclipsing their previous WBBL innings high score by 16 runs. The Renegades scored 23 in their first two overs, but then lost three wickets for seven runs and collapsed again in the end, losing 4 for 3 to be dismissed for 119 in 16.2 overs. The 93-run margin of victory was the Hurricanes’ biggest win in the WBBL by runs and took them from sixth to fifth place and one point behind fourth-placed Brisbane Heat. The three teams have one more game.

Lee attacked the Renegades’ attack, hitting 12 fours and four sixes, peppering the leg side boundaries with his powerful strokes. She featured in partnerships of 55 with Elyse Villani (22 off 14) and Nicola Carey (24 off 23) and a fourth-wicket stand of 102 off just 46 balls with Heather Graham (55 not out off 28).

Renowned batsman Lee brought up her third WBBL ton and first for the Hurricanes in the over, while Graham smashed a six off the penultimate ball of the innings to record her first half-century of the WBBL season.

Georgia Wareham briefly dragged the Renegades into the game with two wickets from her first three balls of her spell in the sixth over. But the Hurricanes regained the initiative when they took their Power Surge immediately after the mid-inning drinks break. They plundered 14 off each of the two overs and continued their attack for the rest of the innings despite slow outfields depriving them of several more runs.

South African pacer Shabnim Ismail (2-21) broke the Renegades’ top order and spinners Maisy Gibson (4-25) and Amy Smith (3-17) cleaned up the rest. Smith took every one of her wickets on her way to recording her best WBBL figures.

Wicketkeeper Lee complemented her batting heroics with a fine catch down the leg side to dismiss Indian star Harmanpreet Kaur for a duck off the third ball. Emma de Broughe (40 not out off 19) was the only Renegades batsman to impress, playing several sumptuous offs among her eight boundaries.

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