Danielle Wyatt-Hodge’s 35-ball 62 and important contributions from Elyse Villani (32*) and Heather Graham (26*) helped Hobart Hurricanes register their second win as they overcame Brisbane Heat by 7 wickets at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. Riding on Grace Harris’s 75 off 57 and Jemimah Rodrigues’s 27-ball 45, the Heat posted a competitive total of 173/5, but the Hurricanes managed to chase it down with two deliveries to spare.
Opting to bat, Heat got off to a good start with Harris and Georgia Redmayne raising a half-century stand inside the first six overs. Harris scored the bulk of the runs in the partnership en route to a 37-ball 50, while Redmayne was struggling to get a move on before Molly Strano dismissed her for a 21-ball 19. Rodrigues joined Harris, and both batters continued to find the boundaries with ease, including four successive fours for the Indian batter in a Graham over. The pair added 69 before Carey accounted for Harris’s wicket, and Rodrigues fell to Graham in the penultimate over. Although they lost quick wickets in the death overs, Laura Harris’ breezy 21 off 11 ensured a good total for Heat.
Lizelle Lee got the Hurricanes off the blocks in the chase, while Wyatt-Hodge also scored at a good rate as the openers added 55 in the first six overs. Lee, however, was bowled by Nadine de Klerk for a 25-ball 38. But Wyatt-Hodge kept the momentum going for the Hurricanes as she raced to a 30-ball fifty. Carey was dismissed at the other end, but Wyatt-Hodge dealt in regular boundaries, striking six fours and three sixes during her stay, before Grace Parsons bagged her wicket. Heat did well to keep things quiet for a while, and Hurricanes were 131/3 after 16 overs, with the pressure on them as they needed 43. Graham led the counteroffensive with a six off Sianna Ginger before Villani struck two fours off Charli Knott, bringing the equation to 21. Graham ensured the 19th was a big over, striking a six and a four off Jess Jonassen, before Villani finished it off with two fours in the final over off Knott.
Brief scores: Brisbane Heat 173/5 in 20 overs (Grace Harris 75, Jemimah Rodrigues 45; Kathryn Bryce 2-22) lost to Hobart Hurricanes 176/3 in 19.4 overs (Danielle Wyatt-Hodge 62, Lizelle Lee 38; Grace Parsons 1-15) by 7 wickets.