close
close

Magic Molly Strano catch return highlights Thunder vs Hurricanes WBBL matchup

Magic Molly Strano catch return highlights Thunder vs Hurricanes WBBL matchup

A magical catch from Hobart Hurricanes spinner Molly Strano wasn’t enough as impressive innings from imports Heather Knight and Chamari Athapaththu plus some skilful bowling from Hannah Darlington helped Sydney Thunder exact a WBBL revenge on Thursday since the beginning of the season.

Strano’s catch was the highlight, though, and an early contender for the catch of the season.

The 32-year-old Offy swooped in to take a spectacular catch off her own bowling to dismiss Athapaththu.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it,” Strano told Seven and Fox.

“It was a stray bullet, so glad it stuck.”

It wasn’t enough to spark a revival, however, with the Thunder recording a 33-point win in a game reduced to 17 points apiece after rain delayed kick-off at North Sydney Oval by 30 minutes on Thursday, just three days after the Hurricanes won. by 31 runs in Hobart,

Athapaththu (38 off 29) and Knight (48 off 28) helped the Thunder amass 5-146.

Hobart smashed 18 off the first seven balls but lost 5-13 in the final overs to finish on 8-113.

Darlington (3-16 from 4) claimed the big wickets of Lizelle Lee (18 from 22) and Heather Graham (30 from 21) and Athapaththu completed a good all-round effort, taking 1-11 from three overs tidy spin, dismissing England star Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

England captain Knight, who missed the first match between the two teams, played some nice shots and added momentum in the second half of the innings.

She hit 14 off the last three balls of the single Power Surge over bowled by Molly Strano, lofting the first over long off and adding two fours in the same area.

“It was really nice when you start a competition to start on the ground and I thought ‘Atta’ was brilliant too,” Knight told Seven and Fox.

“We were able to get a little bit of a partnership in there and it set things up at the end.”

Athapaththu, who was dismissed for a first-ball duck on Sunday, was bowled at deep mid-on for five.

Her innings included a six over deep midwicket and long on before falling to that remarkable return catch by Strano.

In reply, Lee scored boundaries off the first two balls of the Hurricanes’ chase and three in the over, and Wyatt-Hodge scored a six over back from the first ball of the second over.

The Thunder fought back, with Athapaththu having Wyatt-Hodge caught from behind.

Nicola Carey, who scored a 50 in last weekend’s match, then clipped a delivery from Shabnim Ismail on the stumps, one ball after the South African speedster hit it on the helmet.

Lee (18 off 22) could not sustain the early momentum and was declared LBW first ball after the mid-innings break, although if she had used DRS it would have been postponed.

A 43-for-43 stand between Graham and Elyse Villani (25 of 25) gave the Hurricanes hope before they were dismissed in successive innings to trigger a decisive collapse.

AAP