The Scorchers hadn’t planned on Sophie Devine opening on Thursday, but a combination of gusty conditions and a niggle triggered her whirlwind Powerplay innings
Sophie Devine’s surprise promotion to the top of the order and subsequent Powerplay onslaught against the Renegades was something of a happy accident – one that paid off handsomely to set up a crucial win.
After the Scorchers had kept the Renegades to 150 at the CitiPower Centre on Thursday, a total they felt was around par, many were surprised to see Devine walking out to the middle alongside Beth Mooney, instead of regular opener Katie Mack.
Devine opens the batting to destructive effect
What followed was 5.4 overs of carnage, as Devine smacked six fours and two sixes in her 24-ball 46, leaving the Scorchers 1-57 and needing just a tick over a run-a-ball when she was caught on the rope.
Coach Becky Grundy revealed post-match her promotion was not a sign of a major tactical shift from the Scorchers – rather, Devine had come off feeling a touch sore after taking 2-16 during the fielding innings.
That, combined with gusty conditions at the St Kilda ground, triggered a re-think in how best to use the veteran allrounder, who had batted at No.4 throughout this season.
“There were multiple factors … Soph actually came off in the fielding innings just with a little bit of soreness in her quad, hopefully nothing too serious, but one of our strengths has been our running between the wickets, and we didn’t want to expose her to that with a few big games coming up,” Grundy said following Perth’s four-wicket win.
“So (promoting her) gave us some license with the wind as well to have a crack and see how she went and thankfully, it paid off.
“It was great, but hopefully that’s nothing too serious, and we can just play on (as usual) moving forward.”
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Grundy confirmed the Scorchers would return to their usual opening pairing of Mooney and Mack going forward.
“That’s always the plan, just with the factors today, it paid off today (but) it may not have … we’re pretty settled with our opening partnership.”
The Scorchers now fly to Hobart for their final away game of the season, a showdown against ladder leaders the Hurricanes.
Thursday’s win moved them back into the top four, and in a tight race for finals berths, Grundy said it would be crucial to maintain momentum against a Hurricanes’ outfit looking to bounce back from consecutive losses.
“(Hobart) are a strong side, and they’ve shown that throughout the tournament,” she said.
“I think part of this comp is around momentum – we’ve got it, and they don’t at the moment, so we’ll grab hold of that … but we’re expecting them to come out all guns blazing.
“They’ve got a powerful batting line-up and a well-established bowling unit.”
After Saturday, the Scorchers will return home for their final two matches, with a return game against the Renegades to come before they host the struggling Heat.
Perth missed out on finals in WBBL|10 and after a hit-and-miss start to the current tournament, Grundy is hopeful they are hitting their straps.
“We probably got off to a rough start at the beginning, but this comp is very much around how you finish as opposed to how you start,” she said.
“So for us, it’s about one game at a time, can we build some momentum, which we’ve been able to do.
“We’re used to being on the road, I really like being on the road, so hopefully we can continue that going to Hobart tomorrow.”
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
9
7
2
0
0
0.662
0
14
2
STA
8
5
2
0
1
1.152
0
11
3
SIX
7
4
2
0
1
-0.341
0
9
4
REN
8
4
4
0
0
0.14
0
8
5
STR
8
3
3
0
2
0.097
0
8
6
SCO
8
4
4
0
0
-0.44
0
8
7
THU
8
2
5
0
1
-0.52
0
5
8
HEA
8
0
7
0
1
-0.911
0
1
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
