Adelaide Strikers leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington registered the best bowling figures in Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) history on Wednesday (November 24) to knock Brisbane Heat out of the competition.
Wellington broke Molly Stano’s record (5/15) to finish with the phenomenal figures of 5/8 as Heat crawled to post only 114/8 – a total that was easily overhauled by the Strikers.
After being asked to bat first, Heat made a disastrous start as opener Georgia Redmayne was dismissed early by pacer Darcie Brown without troubling the scorers. From thereon, Wellington took charge and kept picking wickets at regular intervals.
In Wellington’s first over, opener Grace Harris was stumped for a shuttering 17 off 27, whereas Mikayla Hinkley was sent back for a duck. Soon, the crafty leg-spinner then bamboozled the opposition with further breakthroughs as she went on to dismiss Jess Jonassen (1 off 5) and Lura Kimmince (3 off 4) in back-to-back overs, leaving Heat reeling at 47/6.
Five of those six wickets were bagged by the 24-year-old Wellington, who also became just the fifth bowler to complete 100 wickets in the WBBL history.
Only a late cameo from Nicola Hancock (40 off 26) and a brilliant effort from the injured Nadine de Klerk (18 off 25) saved the Heat from the complete embarrassment as the two-time champion limped to 114/8.
In reply, the Strikers cruised to victory total with 21 balls to spare.
Strikers opening batter Katie Mack (50 not out off 42 balls) and Tahlia McGrath (38 not out off 27 balls) combined for an unbeaten 71-run stand to make easy work of the run chase.
