Lizelle Lee’s stroke-filled 91 off 54 balls – with 12 fours and 2 sixes in it – headlined Hobart Hurricanes’ 24-run victory over Sydney Thunder at the Aurora Stadium in Launceston. Phoebe Litchfield led the way in Thunder’s chase but the lack of support caught her team well short of the target in the end.
Hurricanes’ win was built on the opening-wicket stand between Lee and captain Elyse Villani worth 68 runs. Villani scored the majority of the runs in that stand – 40 off 34 – but Lee carried on following her dismissal. Thunder struck soon to dismiss Bryony Smith for five runs but Lee found an able ally in Heather Graham. During this alliance, Lee went past 50 runs and nearly carried her bat through the innings, only to be dismissed on the penultimate ball of the innings. She however had done the job as her team posted 174 for 3.
Thunder lacked the partnerships to challenge a total like that. Chamari Athapaththu and Tahlia Wilson were slow to start but survived past the PowerPlay. However, the Hurricanes bowlers struck successively in the middle-overs to leave the team reeling at 39 for 3 in the 9th over. Litchfield and Marizanne Kapp attempted a resurrection of the chase with a fourth-wicket stand but that was broken in the 14th over. Anika Leoroyd came out swinging for the fences but her effort only lasted for 12 balls. Litchfield hit six fours and four sixes in her 43-ball 68 but that effort alone wasn’t enough to take her side over the line.
Brief Scores: Hobart Hurricanes Women174/3 in 20 overs (Lizelle Lee 91, Elyse Vilani 40, Heather Graham 31; Ebony Hoskin 1-14) beat Sydney Thunder Women 150/6 in 20 overs (Phoebe Litchfield 68, Anika Learoyd 20; Molly Strano 2-14) by 24 runs
