WBBL 05: Sophie Devine Smashes 5 Consecutive Sixes against Melbourne Stars

In the 27th match of ongoing Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) between Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars, Strikers’ Sophie Devine smashed five consecutive sixes in the final over of the game.

Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to bowl first. Asked to bat, Strikers were 133 for 4 after the penultimate over. However, things got changed soon after when Devine took on  Madeline Penna in the final over. Sophie Devine pulls the second ball of the over which was a full toss, over deep mid-wicket for a six. The third ball went for a six over the long-off.

However, she was in no mood of slow down her innings as she pulled the fourth ball over the deep mid-wicket for another six. The next six came when Devine hit over the long-on region. Sophie Devine ended their innings with another maximum over deep mid-wicket in their 7-run victory over the Melbourne Stars in Adelaide on Sunday.

Her formidable form power her side to 164-4 and she finished with an unbeaten 85 off just 56 balls which boosted her to second on the top run-getters in WBBL with 335 at a strike rate of 135. Her batting left the young spinner Madeline Penna with a spell of 3 for 50 before her batting assault proved the difference.

She opened the innings with her New Zealand team-mate as well as captain of Adelaide Strikers’ Suzie Bates and stitched a 54-run opening partnership before Bates got out. She took her time in the middle before finally breaking free in a stunning way.

“I soaked up that many balls at the start of the innings, I had to do something,” Sophie Devine said. “I tried from ball one and it wasn’t pretty. I was struggling all innings and I thought, ‘stuff this, let’s get the shackles going and have a crack’.

“The way the Stars batted I thought we under real threat but to stick at it the way we did and come away with the win was really pleasing,” Devine concluded.