WBBL 07 TEAM OF THE WEEK: Who joins Rachel Priest, Tahlia McGrath and Nicola Hancock in our XI?

The Cricketer looks back on the best performances from week one of the 2021 Women’s Big Bash League

Rachel Priest (Hobart Hurricanes) 

107 not out v Melbourne Stars 

You will struggle to find a better innings this season than Rachel Priest’s century against Melbourne Stars. The Hobart Hurricanes captain scored an unbeaten107 runs off just 68 balls, smacking 10 fours and a huge seven sixes, to help her side post 152 for 4. The next highest scorer on her side was Naomi Stalenberg with 17. Priest is just the 10th player to score a century in WBBL history and the third New Zealander after Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates.   

Alyssa Healy (Sydney Sixers) 

57 v Melbourne Stars 

Alyssa Healy hasn’t had a great start to WBBL07, passing 20 just once in three innings. However, her innings against Melbourne Stars in freezing cold and wet conditions in Hobart was a cracking knock and a great way to kick off the season. Chasing 100 to win from 11 overs, Healy scored 57 runs off 27 balls (11 fours) to single-handedly steer her side to victory. Thanks to her and Priest, it’s been a rough first week for Melbourne Stars’ bowling attack.  

Georgia Redmayne (Brisbane Heat) 

59 not out,  four catches & one stumping v Perth Scorchers 

Georgia Redmayne demonstrated her class both in front of and behind the stumps against Perth Scorchers, scoring 59 not out from 52 balls (one of only two players across both sides to pass 30) before completing four catches and one stumping as the Scorchers were bowled out for 103. Among her victims were middle-order quarter Marizanne Kapp, Heather Graham, Chloe Piparo and Matilda Carmichael.  

WBBL 07 TEAM GUIDES

Adelaide Strikers

Brisbane Heat

Hobart Hurricanes

Melbourne Renegades

Melbourne Stars

Perth Scorchers

Sydney Sixers

Sydney Thunder

Grace Harris (Brisbane Heat) 

41 v Perth Scorchers, 34 & 3-16 v Perth Scorchers 

No, it’s not a typo, Brisbane Heat and Perth Scorchers have met twice in week one and Grace Harris put in a strong performance on both occasions.  On October 17, she scored 41 runs off 27 balls  and was the only player on her team to pass 20. Two days later, she contributed with bat and ball, scoring 34 runs off 30 balls and sharing a 68-run partnership with Redmayne before dismissing Heather Graham, Alana King and Samantha Betts.  

Tahlia McGrath (Adelaide Strikers) 

42 & 3-17 v Sydney Thunder, 50 not out v Melbourne Renegades 

Tahlia McGrath entered WBBL07 off the back of two unbeaten 40-plus knocks for Australia and has continued her strong form with the bat for the Strikers. Against Thunder she scored 42 runs off 34 balls, sharing a 69-run fifth-wicket stand with Madeline Penna, while against Renegades, she finished unbeaten on 50 off 39 balls. Against Thunder, she also excelled with the ball, dismissing three of their top five to finish with figures of 3 for 17.  

Jess Jonassen (Brisbane Heat) 

3-16 v Perth Scorchers, 19 not out & 1-14 v Perth Scorchers 

In Heat versus Scorchers part one, Jess Jonassen picked up 3 for 16 from her four over allocation, avoiding being hit for a single boundary and also dismissing Sophie Devine. In part two, she collected the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu for the second time in three days (although this time she was hit for one four) and scored 19 runs off just six balls while batting at No.7. 

^{Sarah Coyte hasn't wasted a delivery}

Ruth Johnston (Hobart Hurricanes) 

4-8 v Melbourne Stars 

Priest’s opening partner Ruth Johnston hasn’t had much joy with the bat, scoring just 32 runs in three innings, but with the ball she has been electric. After producing figures of 0 for 8 from two overs against Sydney Sixers, the 18-year-old took 4 for 8 from 3.4 overs (including the wicket of Meg Lanning) against Melbourne Stars. Of the 20 balls she bowled against the Stars, 13 were dot balls while her economy for WBBL07 is a tournament-leading 3.00. 

Kim Garth (Melbourne Stars) 

1-16 v Sydney Sixers, 24 not out & 3-17 v Sydney Sixers 

In the tournament opener, Ireland international Kim Garth was the only Stars bowler not to taste the wrath of Alyssa Healy, producing tidy figures of 1 for 16 from her three overs and picking up the wicket of Ashleigh Gardner. In their second meeting, she contributed a useful 21-ball 24 before removing Shafali Verma, Ellyse Perry and Radha Yadav to help seal a 30-run victory for her side. 

Georgia Wareham (Melbourne Renegades) 

3-13 v Hobart Hurricanes, 0-13 v Adelaide Strikers 

Georgia Wareham has been ruled out of the remainder of WBBL07 with a ruptured ACL and her absence will be a huge blow for the Renegades. Against Hobart Hurricanes, the 22-year-old spinner had a hand in four wickets, removing Johnston, Mignon du Preez and Molly Strano with her bowling and taking the catch to dismiss Priest. Against the Strikers, she failed to pick up a wicket but conceded just 4.33 runs per over. Across her seven overs, she bowled 27 dot balls.  

^{Jess Jonassen looks on}

Sarah Coyte (Adelaide Strikers) 

2-18 v Sydney Thunder, 3-20 v Melbourne Renegades 

Adelaide Strikers medium-pacer Sarah Coyte is the early leader in the Golden Arm standings with five wickets in 7.2 overs (Molly Strano has five from 12 overs). Against Thunder, Coyte dismissed Deepti Sharma and Samantha Bates as well as combining with Darcie Brown to runout Lauren Smith. She picked up three against Renegades, removing Sophie Molineux, Jess Duffin and Wareham, and bowling 14 dot balls in 26 deliveries.  

Nicola Hancock (Brisbane Heat) 

1-16 v Perth Scorchers, 3-19 v Perth Scorchers 

In her first two outings in WBBL07, Nicola Hancock has already equalled her wicket haul for 2019 and beaten last season’s best figures of 2 for 16. She picked up just the one wicket on October 17, removing Alana King, but was instrumental in Heat’s revenge victory two days later, dismissing Devine, Beth Mooney (for a first-ball duck) and Lilly Mills.

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