Meg Lanning, Laura Harris and Molly Strano were amongst a handful of experienced players who had instant impact for their teams in the Spring Challenge
With a 70 off 51 for the Melbourne Stars in their Spring Challenge opener, Meg Lanning has sent a reminder that her touch hasn’t been lost.
Coming on the back of a shaky first-leg of the WNCL season, where she recorded a high score of 31 from four innings, Lanning brushed off the obstacles stopping her from converting positive starts.
If the former Australia captain hadn’t already lit up the tournament’s big opening day with the half-century, she then implemented a direct-hit run-out of the kind that induce gasps – a precise and powerful throw without wasting any time to balance herself.
Lanning was amongst a number of senior players who relished being part of the action in the first two days of the competition.
Playing her first game for the Sydney Thunder, Laura Harris did not take long to reassure her new club of her strengths and did exactly what the sticker on her bat read – ‘whack’ the ball.
Harris had come under pressure for not making many significant contributions for the Brisbane Heat last season before departing the club she had been part of since the inaugural WBBL during the trade window.
The 35-year-old found her firepower back during the Australian winter while playing in England’s Vitality Blast and the Women’s Caribbean Premier League and returned with it to smash 48no off 20 at North Sydney Oval on Tuesday.
Harris hit the ACT Meteors bowlers for five sixes in the chase, four of which came back-to-back, before getting her side over the line with a boundary.
Earlier in the game, Sam Bates helped the Thunder restrict the Meteors to 127, as she cleaned up the tail, picking up figures of 3-18 in 3.1 overs.
Veteran quick Sarah Coyte was even more miserly for the Melbourne Renegades as she gave away just five runs in three overs. While her two wickets and an economy of 1.67 weren’t enough to get Renegades a win, her spell made Brisbane Heat’s chase of 85 drag on to the final over.
Maitlan Brown strengthened her all-round credentials with two productive outings over the two days. Her 57-run partnership with Emma Manix-Geeves got the Sydney Sixers over the line against the defending champions Hobart Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Her handy 26no off 16 followed a bowling effort of 1-23, in which she dismissed the dangerous Lizelle Lee for a solitary run, and won her the player of the match honours.
Brown returned on Wednesday to bowl a brilliant spell of 3-27 against the Perth Scorchers after contributing 18 runs with the bat to the Sixers’ total of 127. Her contributions, however, did not suffice to get them a win this time.
Molly Strano’s thumb on her bowling hand was taped up until a fortnight ago. But on Wednesday, she was receiving the player of the match award for her spell against the Thunder.
The injury had delayed the spinner’s state homecoming as she missed all four of Victoria’s WNCL games. Sticking to the purple for the WBBL and the Spring Challenge, Strano hit the ground running for the Hurricanes over the first two days.
In what can be termed as a complete bowling performance, she gave away only nine runs as she picked up four wickets at an economy of 2.25. In a rarity for T20 cricket, her overs included a maiden.
