WBBL round-up: Suzie Bates left distraught by injury as Stars win again, Hurricanes earn second victory

Suzie Bates' tournament looked to be over with a recurrence of her shoulder injury in her comeback match as the Melbourne Stars continued their form with a fifth-consecutive victory. Bates was distraught when hurting herself attempting a throw from the boundary having made an encouraging 28 off 23 balls with the bat in her first game since damaging her shoulder against Australia early last month. Mignon du Preez's 51-ball 61, in a second-wicket stand of 92 with Elyse Villani (46), did most of the work in the chase after a rare low score for Meg Lanning when she drove to cover in the third over. A late cluster of wickets made things a little closer, but Anna Lanning struck the winning runs with three balls to spare. Bates and Laura Wolvaardt had given the Strikers a solid foundation but they couldn't accelerate during the middle overs. Bridget Patterson used up 16 balls for 6 and when Wolvaardt was bowled giving herself room against Tess Flintoff the innings was withering before Amanda-Jade Wellington struck 29 off 17 balls but it wasn't enough. Nat Sciver took three wickets in the final over.

The Hurricanes lifted themselves towards mid-table with a hard-fought victory against a Renegades side hit by struggling form and injuries. Their senior players came to the fore as Rachel Priest top-scored while Chloe Tryon added a vital 36 off 23 to counteract the loss of Hayley Matthews and Nicola Carey in consecutive deliveries. Molly Strano removed Tryon in the penultimate over to sit on 99 WBBL wickets, The Renegades, who lost Georgia Wareham for the rest of the season before the game, juggled their tactics with Carly Leeson promoted to open the batting but she was bowled swinging across the line second ball. Molineux and Amy Satterthwaite have both struggled with their strike-rates this season and though both were given lives the trend continued as their innings finished at under a run-a-ball. Lizelle Lee, shifted down to No. 4, kept the Renegades in the chase and when she was caught in the deep Courtney Webb and Josie Dooley kept the pressure on but 17 off the final over was a step too far against Belinda Vakarewa's skills.