Melbourne Renegades win their first WBBL championship

Melbourne Renegades win WBBL for the first time in their history © Getty

Melbourne Renegades completed a stunning turnaround in WBBL10 to win their first title after losing a rain-interrupted final against Brisbane Heat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. At the heart of their fairytale end to the campaign was an all-round performance from Hayley Matthews, who took wickets in consecutive deliveries in the second half of the match and knocked out a powerful 69. Brisbane Heat, who were chasing an unprecedented third championship, fell seven runs short of the DLS-added target of 98 runs in 12 overs.

The title win completed a remarkable comeback for a team who had never reached the final before and finished with the wooden spoon last year. Indeed, they had lost three of their first five games of the season before going on a six-game winning run to win the title. However, having not played since November 23, there was a fear that their momentum would have fizzled out during the downtime, a theory fuelled by the fact that they were 23 for 3 after being put in to bat.

Courtney Webb fell early after Nicola Hancock's short ball was pulled straight to midwicket. Captain Sophie Molyneux also failed to keep a well-struck cut shot and was caught at point before star signing Deandra Dottin was run out without a ball in the most surprising circumstances after her bat got stuck in the turf while sliding to her. The crease looked easy.

Mathews, who had at one stage been batting for 6 off 15, came out to bat throughout the innings but more importantly found boundaries at every opportunity. She found a formidable partner in Georgia Wareham, who made 21 off 41. The power surge came after Wareham's dismissal and Mathews immediately put the team in charge by hitting Shikha Pandey for three fours in the 13th over. Naomi Stallenberg herself hit a pair of boundaries in the next two overs off Grace Parsons (2-29).

Mathews, who had made her half-century off 47 balls, hit three more boundaries in the last three overs of the innings before going into the innings with three balls to spare. Her 61-ball effort, although it took her season tally past 300, more importantly helped the team to 141 - a good score in the circumstances but by no means unstoppable.

The Heat's chase got off to the worst possible start when they lost WBBL veteran and their top run-getter of the season Grace Harris for a duck in the first over. Jemimah Rodrigues, who had been declared fit after retiring with a wrist injury in the Challenger, fell at straight cover to Millie Illingworth in the second over. At 15 for 2 after 3.2 overs, the players were forced to walk out for 33 minutes and when play resumed, the Heat were asked to make 98 from 12 overs. That soon turned into 27 for 3 when Molyneux dismissed Georgia Redmayne.

With the scoreboard putting added pressure on the opposition, Mathews was bowled in the seventh over. He started with a four to Jess Jonassen. But the experienced campaigner struck brilliantly to send Charlie Nott back - caught at deep mid-wicket. On the next delivery, he looked to sweep the batter Mathews after he had batted off-stump from Laura Harris.

The Heat stayed in the game with a pair of boundaries in the next two overs, reducing the equation to 43 off 18 balls. Jonassen started that 10th over with a six and a four off Dottin but once again ended a West Indian over with a wicket - that of Lauren Winfield-Hill. Still needing 30 runs off the last two overs to hit. They managed just 11 runs in the final over, with 19 to go in the final over with captain Jonassen still in the middle. But his opposite number, Molyneux, decided to carry the burden of Renegades history on his shoulders and bowled a near-perfect final over, ultimately sealing the franchise's date with history.