Meg Lanning has hit her highest T20 score, the 135 from 74 balls more than tripling the 42 made by the Sydney Sixers in their loss to the Melbourne Stars
Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Stars | WBBL|11
Meg Lanning has produced one of the greatest innings in WBBL history, with a vintage century leading the Melbourne Stars to a rain-affected 111-run flogging of the Sydney Sixers.
In a stunning reminder of why Australia’s former captain was for a long time the world’s best bat, Lanning hit 135 from 74 balls at North Sydney Oval on Thursday night.
Her knock help the Stars to the third highest score in the competition’s history of 4-219, before the Sixers were embarrassingly all out for 42 in reply with Kim Garth taking 4-3.
Vintage Meg: Lanning flawless in second WBBL century
The Sixers were only saved from the biggest defeat in WBBL history by rain wiping out 10 overs and threatening to deny the Stars, with the target reduced to 154.
The Stars’ victory came after Hobart beat the Melbourne Renegades in Thursday’s earlier game, putting the Hurricanes two wins clear at the top of the ladder.
But no matter how much rain fell, there was no denying this was Lanning’s night as she scored three times as many as the entire Sixers side.
The 33-year-old’s innings marked the highest of her 280-game T20 career, and the third highest in WBBL history. And in terms of pure strokeplay, there have arguably been no better knocks in the 11 seasons of the competition.
The Sixers fed Lanning with balls outside off stump. She responded with an array of late cuts, square drives and cover drives that all went to the boundary.
She took 41 balls to bring up her half century, but from there exploded with her final 82 runs coming from 33 balls and a boundary every two deliveries.
Now two years retired from international cricket, Lanning has scores of 60, 90no, 3 and 135 to start this WBBL season and remains one of the best batters in the world.
4-3! Every ball of Kim Garth’s destructive spell
Garth then killed off any faint Sixers hopes, bowling Sophia Dunkley, Ellyse Perry and Elsa Hunter, and trapping Alyssa Healy lbw.
Rhys McKenna was the other hero for the Stars, with her 50 coming as part of a159-run opening stand with Lanning.
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
5
5
0
0
0
0.775
0
10
2
REN
5
3
2
0
0
0.081
0
6
3
STA
4
2
1
0
1
2.944
0
5
4
SCO
5
2
3
0
0
-0.789
0
4
5
SIX
4
2
2
0
0
-0.86
0
4
6
STR
4
1
2
0
1
0.098
0
3
7
THU
4
1
3
0
0
-0.375
0
2
8
HEA
3
0
3
0
0
-1.115
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
