Who won the inaugural Women’s T20 Spring Challenge 2024?

The first edition of the T20 Spring Challenge, a new state T20 competition organized by Cricket Australia (CA), concluded in a spectacular final on October 20, 2024. Elise Villani’s Hobart Hurricanes beat the Brisbane Heat, captained by Georgia Redmayne, to secure the title with a five-wicket victory. The tournament saw exceptional performances with the Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars reaching the semi-finals.

Having won the toss, Brisbane Heat decided to bat first in the final but stumbled early. Star opener Laura Harris (10 for 6) fell in the first over and the innings struggled to gain momentum. Georgia Redmayne (13 from 18) and Charlie Knott (17 from 23) tried to steady the ship as they contributed to the 31-strong partnership. Sianna Ginger (24 off 21) and Lucinda Bourke (22 off 19) played vital knocks but their dismissals sparked a collapse as Hurricanes bowlers dominated the latter stages to restrict the Heat to 133/9. Ruth Johnston shone for the Hurricanes, taking 4 wickets for 20 runs.

In response, the Hurricanes started strongly with Liesel Lee taking charge in the powerplay with 6 boundaries. Despite the loss of Ruth Johnston (6 for 7) and Nicola Carey (5 for 7), Lee’s brilliant 63 from 47 balls sealed the chase. Although her dismissal slowed the run rate, Manix-Jeeves (27 off 21) continued to serve. Needing 18 off the last 12 balls, Nicola Hancock’s expensive 19th over, conceding 14 runs, gave the Hurricanes the lead. They won on the last ball of the match in a thrilling end to the tournament.

The Hurricanes got off to a rocky start, losing their opening match to the Melbourne Renegades, but quickly found their rhythm. They won three matches in a row at the league stage against the Adelaide Strikers, Perth Scorchers and Australian Capital Territory before their semi-final against the Melbourne Stars was lost, allowing them to progress based on their superior position in the points table . Liesel Lee was the tournament’s top scorer with 252 runs from six innings, while Molly Strano led the bowling attack with eight wickets.

Brisbane Heat had a strong tournament run, starting with a dominant win over Sydney Thunder thanks to Laura Harris’ sensational unbeaten 102 off 46 balls. They won three of their four league matches, with their only loss coming to the Sydney Sixers. They defeated the Adelaide Strikers by 38 points in the semi-final, with Sianna Ginger receiving the Player of the Match award for her all-round performance (46 off 38 and 2/23). Georgia Redmayne topped the Heat’s batting charts with 208 runs, while Nicola Hancock was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets.

Third-placed Melbourne Stars won three of their four league games, with their only loss coming in the Australian Capital Territory. Despite some strong performances, including Hasrat Gill’s magical spell of 3/12 against Sydney Thunder, their semi-final was a disaster and they missed out on last place due to sheer run rate. Meg Lanning led the team with 131 runs and Sophie Day took 7 wickets.

The fourth-placed Adelaide Strikers showed brilliance but lacked consistency. They started with a win over the Perth Scorchers but suffered setbacks in key matches, including a semi-final loss to the Brisbane Heat. Madeline Penna was their leading batter with 153 runs, while Eleanor LaRosa was the second highest scalp player of the tournament with 9 scalps.

The Australian Capital Territory and Sydney Thunder narrowly missed out on the semi-finals due to lower net runs despite both winning two matches. Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers struggled, with just one win from four matches.

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