The Australia legspinner claimed three wickets in the opening game of the season the Hobart Hurricanes produced a superb chase
AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2025
Georgia Wareham and Tess Flintoff celebrate•Getty Images
Danni Wyatt-Hodge dominated Hobart Hurricanes’ chase•Getty Images
Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nicola Carey shared a Hobart Hurricanes record stand as they opened the season with their highest successful chase in the WBBL.Sydney Thunder’s middle order all scored rapidly, but the 143-run third-wicket partnership off just 82 balls between Wyatt-Hodge and Carey ensured Hurricanes could get home with three balls to spare, and in reality it was a little more comfortable than that with Shabnim Ismail doing well to force it into the final over.Wyatt-Hodge launched three sixes in her 52-ball 90, her highest score in WBBL, and might have been able to reach a century with 12 needed when she fell to Sam Bates. Carey finished unbeaten on 58, placing the ball expertly throughout her innings after Hurricanes had been 27 for 2 following the early losses of Lizelle Lee and England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.Unlike Hurricanes, Thunder didn’t have a batter build on their start. Tahlia Wilson and Georgia Voll added 55 for the first wicket before falling in the space of five deliveries. Phoebe Litchfield played a stunning reverse sweep and raced to 16 when she fell to Molly Strano.Overseas duo Heather Knight and Chamari Athapaththu both played useful hands while Laura Harris, in her first game for the club, cracked 20 off just seven balls but fell with 21 balls remaining when she could have done some serious damage.
Ashleigh Gardner produced the ultimate captain’s performance to lead the Sydney Sixers to a crushing 10-wicket WBBL win over the Perth Scorchers at the WACA.Gardner’s first match as full-time Sixers skipper was as close to perfection as you could get, with the 28-year-old snaring a remarkable 5 for 15 off four overs as Perth were skittled for 109. They were the best WBBL bowling figures by a Sixers player.In reply to Scorchers’ meagre total, Sixers then raced to the victory target with a whopping 43 balls to spare courtesy of breezy knocks from Sophia Dunkley and Ellyse Perry in a performance that will send a huge warning to the rest of their opponents.Gardner’s rampage began with the key wicket of Sophie Devine, who was stumped in almost accidental fashion after wicketkeeper Emma Manix-Geeves fumbled the ball. Devine was initially reluctant to leave the ground but slow-mo replays confirmed the ball had dislodged the bail and not the keeper’s gloves.
