Georgia Prestwidge lived and breathed the Renegades’ remarkable rise in WBBL|10, now she hopes to nurture that winning mentality at her new club
As the Melbourne Stars look to turn around their Weber WBBL charts this season, they need not look far for inspiration.
The other side of the Victorian dressing room, in fact.
The two Melbourne clubs had drastically different fortunes last season, with the Stars finishing bottom of the table with two wins from 10 matches as they missed the top four for a fourth-straight season.
During the final, they watched on from the stands of the MCG as the Renegades side – comprised largely of their Victorian teammates – completed a fairytale campaign that saw them rise from WBBL|09 wooden spooners to first-time champions.
Melbourne Stars squad v Scorchers: Annabel Sutherland (c), Sophie Day, Meg Lanning, Rhys McKenna, Georgia Prestwidge, Ella Hayward, Sophie Reid, Maisy Gibson, Dani Gibson, Kim Garth, Amy Jones, Marizanne Kapp, Sasha Moloney
It goes without saying that the Stars will be eager to emulate that journey this time around, and as they prepare to take on the Renegades in Sunday’s first derby of the season, they’ll be able to draw on two members of that triumphant campaign: Georgia Prestwidge and Ella Hayward, who swapped Melbourne clubs during the off-season.
“I think any team looks at (the Renegades), even with individual performance – you can go from having the worst game to the best game in 24 hours,” Prestwidge said in Melbourne on Thursday.
“The nature of T20 cricket is just so up and down, and I watched the (Renegades) documentary – it was bloody awesome to watch and anything can happen.
“I think a lot of teams will look at that and (know that) even if they do get off to a poor start, you can turn your season around really quickly.
“That winning mentality is something that once you get on a roll … the feeling of winning and being really competitive (is something) you want to bring into other teams.
“So I’m just trying to be my natural, bubbly self with the girls, and hope I can pull a few on board and get some ‘dubs’ under the belt.”
Before Sunday, the Stars will first look to pick up their first win of the season when they meet Perth Scorchers at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
It follows a frustrating season opener against the Strikers, which was washed out four balls short of the five overs required in the second innings for a result.
Rubbing salt into the wound, the Stars were in a strong position prior to the rain, having piled on 5-184 batting first before dismissing Strikers opener Tammy Beaumont without scoring.
“(The washout was) a bit of a disappointment,” Prestwidge said.
“I feel like we had some really good momentum after the first innings and setting a really decent competitive score for the Strikers to chase.
“But it kind of felt like we won without the result, so vibes are really high in the camp, and we’re looking forward to getting to Adelaide.
“The girls are looking to turn the page and looking ahead for a fresh start and we’ve been really happy with the way that we’ve turned up so far.”
Alongside the signings of Prestwidge and Hayward, and the addition of the uncapped Indigo Noble, the Stars brought in two fresh England internationals for WBBL|11 in experienced wicketkeeper Amy Jones and allrounder Dani Gibson.
“(They’re) really cool, calm characters, they’ve just fitted in seamlessly,” Prestwidge said of Jones and Gibson.
“And (Marizanne Kapp), the character that she is, and the aura that she brings, she’s just a beast in herself.
“They’ve added a lot of value already in that short time.”
The Stars have named an unchanged squad for Friday’s game, as have the Scorchers, who are coming in fresh off their first win of the season against the Heat in Brisbane, set up by Beth Mooney’s fourth Big Bash century.
Perth Scorchers squad v Stars: Sophie Devine (c), Chloe Ainsworth, Maddy Darke, Amy Edgar, Mikayla Hinkley, Ebony Hoskin, Freya Kemp, Alana King, Katie Mack, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Paige Scholfield, Ruby Strange
Weber WBBL|11 Standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Total points
PTS
1
HUR
2
2
0
0
0
0.923
0
4
2
REN
2
2
0
0
0
0.847
0
4
3
SIX
2
1
1
0
0
0.9
0
2
4
SCO
2
1
1
0
0
-0.924
0
2
5
STR
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
6
STA
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
7
THU
2
0
2
0
0
-0.616
0
0
8
HEA
2
0
2
0
0
-1.012
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
