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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWayne Parnell revived Tridents’ innings and then snuffed out three wickets in the chase•Ashley Allen – CPL T20 / Getty

Wayne Parnell’s terrific display with bat and ball hauled Barbados Tridents to a 16-run win over table-toppers Trinbago Knight Riders at Kensington Oval. However, the narrow margin of victory still left Tridents on the brink of elimination. They are placed fifth, behind Guyana Amazon Warriors, with net run rate of -0.405, and face the improbable task of having to win their final league match by 220 runs to qualify for the play-offs.Parnell’s unbeaten 44 at No. 9 rescued Tridents from 62 for 7 in the 10th over. He followed up his highest T20 score with figures of 3 for 31, and sent Brendon McCullum to the hospital with a blow to his left arm to wreck the Knight Riders chase. McCullum later confirmed that he won’t be taking any further part in the tournament, tweeting “@CPL over for this year unfort. Been a ride with @TKRiders brothers! Many thanks to all for your support! Luck team!”Hero to zeroDwayne Smith, Tridents’ centurion in their previous match, fended an edge off Anderson Phillip to Denesh Ramdin second ball after they were sent in to bat.Kane Williamson’s forgettable debut season continued with him caught behind for 6. The New Zealand captain has now failed to reach double-figures in more than half his innings this CPL.Nurse ratchets up the pressureOffspinner Ashley Nurse had gone wicketless in his first two matches after coming on as a mid-season addition to the Knight Riders squad. He was still named in the West Indies T20I squad to face England later in the month, and celebrated his recall with a wicket off his first ball, suckering Nicholas Pooran into an ill-advised slog to long-off. Two more wickets from Shadab Khan, along with a pair of run-outs, left the Tridents looking grim at 62 for 7 in the 10th over.Wayne’s worldTridents were in danger of being bowled out for double-digits for the second time in three matches when Parnell entered. It wasn’t the most glamorous knock, with several miscues falling in no man’s land, but he showed grit that the recognised batsmen before him lacked, and ensured his team had something to bowl at.Just as vital was his new-ball spell that decimated the Knight Riders top-order. Parnell claimed Sunil Narine in the second over before Colin Munro slogged a catch to deep square leg. He then pinged McCullum on the elbow, forcing him to retire hurt and effectively left Knight Riders 41 for 3. Two balls later, Ravi Rampaul had Darren Bravo fending a short ball to backward point.Follow the leaderNot for the first time this season, Pollard produced a disciplined and inspired display with the ball, building on Parnell’s early spell to keep Knight Riders in check. He had Ramdin caught behind in the 10th over and Shadab followed suit as the score flagged to 67 for 5.There was a brief swing in momentum when Parnell, returning in the 17th over, was smacked for 19 off five balls by Javon Searles. Knight Riders now needed a far more manageable 31 off 21 balls.But Parnell hit back, bowling Nurse to wrap up his spell, and the match ended with Searles splicing a slog to short third man and McCullum unable to resume batting.

ScorecardEssex’s season has slipped down a treat for Chris Silverwood•Getty Images

There are days when cricket slams a door in the face of its most devoted admirers and there are days when that same door is kept ajar, tantalising folk with the possibility of play. And so they gathered in the Felsted School and Tom Pearce stands this Tuesday afternoon and evening, teased by the breaks in the weather and whiling away summer with their friends. In its way, the latter diversion was as important as the possibility of cricket.Play was due to start at two o’clock and then again at 4.25. On each occasion the rain set in a few minutes before the umpires were due to go out and the small crowd lapsed back into the Janus-faced allure of prospects and memories. Flasked and tupperwared, they waited. Even some of the oldsters read their mobile phones. Timings were juggled as people tried to work out when play might be abandoned on a day when cricket could continue until a scheduled latest close of 9.30. The floodlights were turned off around six o’clock and we waited for Messrs Hartley and Millns to decide that hope could be turned off, too.By 6.50 the umpires had had enough and everybody began to think about the shape of a three-day game. Come Wednesday afternoon Essex will resume on 106 for 0 and with a freshly pressing need to get a wriggle on and build the sort of lead which will allow them to pressurise Middlesex on the final day. For Chris Silverwood, Essex’s quietly-spoken and impressive head coach, the dynamics of the game have changed.”I still think the game’s in a good position but we have to bat well tomorrow and we have to get a full day’s cricket in,” he said. “If we can bat once and bat long then who knows, so the first order of the day is to score as many runs as we can, pick up as many bonus points as possible and see where the game goes from there. We’re sitting at the top of the league and it’s for other people to catch us. If we can press the button, we will but Middlesex might bowl well and make life very difficult for us and we have to accept that.”Yet even on this grey June evening as the commuters hurried home down New London Road towards Ingatestone and Margaretting, Silverwood’s thoughts could be turned back towards the development of a side capable of winning promotion in 2016 and then “making their presence felt” this summer.”We’re always watching what other teams are doing but we will continue to approach our cricket in exactly the same way,” he said. “There’s a lot that can happen and I told the team this morning that there is no room for complacency. We have to follow the same process.”That process began for Silverwood and his coaches a year last November when the players reported back for pre-season training and plans for Essex’s resurgence were put into place.”What we’ve done has got us in a great position and it will continue to do so,” he said. “I’m not right fussed who our rivals are. It’s about what we do and how we conduct us selves. There are no bad teams in Division One, even though some are having harder times than others. You have to treat everybody like your rival.”We’ve not changed what we’ve done from last year. We’ve just got better at it. The players believe in the process and believe in themselves. At the start of last year we started playing the type of cricket that we want to play now. We’re not going to say we’re going to win it but we’re here to make our presence felt. And if we do that, who knows?”

Former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath has quit the steering committee tasked with the responsibility of forming the players’ association.Amarnath is understood to have left because of his commentary assignments. “He wants to do [those assignments]. He can’t do both,” a member of the Committee of Administrators told ESPNcricinfo.With two other members of the steering committee – Diana Edulji and Anil Kumble – already having recused themselves, the committee is now down to one; only its chairman, former union home secretary GK Pillai, remains. While Edulji opted out because of her role as a member of the CoA, Kumble withdrew after he had taken over as India coach.The CoA will now approach the Supreme Court for direction. “There is no steering committee as such as of today. We will be approaching the court to see what needs to be done,” the official said. “We will mention this in our status report that will be submitted to the court. Whether another sub-committee is created or the CoA is entrusted with the task, it is up to the Supreme Court to decide”.The steering committee was established in early 2016 to oversee the formation of the players’ association in accordance with the recommendations of the Lodha Committee. It was asked to “identify and invite all eligible ex-cricketers to be members, to open bank accounts, receive funds from the BCCI, conduct the first elections for office bearers, communicate the names of BCCI-player nominees to the board”.The Lodha Committee felt it was important to give the players “a voice” to express their concerns but barred them from forming a “trade union of any sort”. The committee also recommended the need to advance the welfare of players, including insurance, medical and other commercial benefits. While there was strident opposition to the recommendation initially from the BCCI, the board later “unanimously” accepted it at its special general meeting on October 1.The official said the CoA had also established a sub-committee to look into the registration and regulation of player agents. The Maharashtra Cricket Association’s Abhay Apte and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri are understood to be in the sub-committee, which has three members at the moment. Two more members will be added on later, comprising representatives of the players’ association. “The sub-committee of three members will carry out the duties till the players’ association is formed,” the official said. “Once the players’ association is formed two of its members will be drafted into this panel”.

ScorecardTom Westley joined Alastair Cook in hitting a hundred•Getty Images

Alastair Cook and Tom Westley both posted centuries for Essex as Hampshire endured a day of toil in the field on a rain-shortened first day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Chelmsford.The pair put on a record 243 runs for the second wicket against Hampshire after Nick Browne departed to the fifth ball of a day shorn by 17 overs because of the weather.Westley beat Cook to three-figures by seven balls in the late evening as both played patient, sensible innings to grind out the platform for what should be a big first-innings total after being asked to bat. Cook had 114 at the close which came four balls early when Westley was bowled by Kyle Abbott for 111.For Cook, in particular, the statistics keep mounting. He went past 800 in all cricket this summer, 300 of them in the Championship. This was also his eighth score upwards of fifty in the two competitions contested to date, his fourth ton of the season and 19th career century for Essex.Westley has been in and out of form this season, but has still amassed 600 runs across the Championship and Royal London Cup. This was his second century of the season, and Hampshire will be sick of the sight of him: he had already taken 93 off their attack in the earlier white-ball game at the same ground.The day’s play had already been reduced from 96 overs to 92 when it finally started 45 minutes late after overnight rain. Just three overs were possible in the morning session – for the loss of Browne’s wicket – before the rain returned and an early lunch taken. By then the day’s allocation had been reduced to 79 overs.Hampshire looked at the conditions at 11.15am and went for an uncontested toss and were rewarded when Browne clipped Fidel Edwards off his legs straight to Mason Crane at square leg without scoring. Westley survived a first-ball appeal for a catch behind, but then went from strength to strength.The ball seamed and swung around alarmingly for the batsmen in the early afternoon. Abbott almost cut Westley in half with a late inswinger, and much later had him tucked up with one that jumped into his midriff. Gareth Berg had Cook in some discomfort for a couple of overs, but Westley responded by hitting the South African for successive boundaries. The first was hammered off the back-foot through the covers to bring up the fifty partnership in 19 overs. The second fifty was quicker, taking just a further 10 overs.For a spell, runs were hard to come by on a slow outfield, and Cook had to run three for a well-timed drive through the offside that would normally have gone for four. Westley, though, outscored his partner in mid-innings, and found the ropes with greater regularity.Westley’s ninth four, an angled shot past third slip off Berg, brought up his fifty from 75 balls. Cook followed him with his fifth four, a drive square on the offside off Edwards. His fifty had taken 113 balls.The earlier storm clouds gave way to a brighter evening, metaphorically and meteorologically, as Hampshire used seven bowlers to try and find a way of breaking the partnership, which went past 150 in the 46th over.Westley was becalmed for the first seven overs after tea before finding a gap through the covers for boundary No. 13. He went past his previous highest Championship score of the summer – his 86 not out to help plot victory against Somerset in Taunton – with a four and two from successive balls by Liam Dawson.Essex claimed only their third batting point of the season in the 63rd over, at the same time as the partnership passed 200. Westley was first to three-figures when he whipped Sean Ervine through the covers for his 15th boundary in 178 balls. In the next over, Cook stroked Crane through the offside for a 222-ball hundred, so completing a satisfying day for the home side.

OUT: Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain
IN: Mehedi Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain
List of contracted players for 2017: Grade A+: Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal
Grade A: Mahmudullah
Grade B: Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar
Grade C: Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Grade D: Taijul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mehedi Hasan

Mehedi Hasan is among the four new faces in the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s list of contracted players for 2017, along with other first-timers, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mosaddek Hossain and Taskin Ahmed. Rubel Hossain has also been included on the list, after missing out in 2016.Nasir Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain and Arafat Sunny have not been offered a contract. All three have been out of the Bangladesh team for extended periods. Nasir, however, returned to the ODI squad for the Ireland tri-series, having last played the format at home in October.Mehedi, Rabbi and Taijul Islam have been included in the grade D category and will receive US $15,000 each this year, an increase from the $11,250 awarded to players in the category in the previous contract cycle. Over the past eight months, Mehedi has become a regular member of the Bangladesh side while Taskin and Mosaddek have, this year, appeared in all three formats for the first time in their international careers.Rubel, Taskin, Mosaddek and Mustafizur Rahman have been slotted a grade higher, and are set to receive $22,500 each. The previous remuneration for players in grade C was $15,000.Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar have all been classed in Grade B, and will earn $30,000 this year. Mahmudullah is the only player in the list of 16 to be included under grade A, having been handed a demotion from grade A-plus, and he will receive $45,000. Those in grade A-plus will receive $60,000 this year, coupled with an incentive for being a captain or a vice-captain. Among players in this bracket, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza are the highest paid, and will receive $63,000 each. In the last contract cycle, players in the A-plus grade were paid $37,500.The BCB increased the salary of its contracted players this year after protracted discussions with some of the senior players, who, pointed out that they earn far less than all other Test-playing nations and less than their counterparts in Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Through the course of the 2016-17 home season, Umesh Yadav has played more matches and bowled more overs than any other Indian fast bowler. His efforts, though, haven’t always translated into wickets: before the start of the series against Australia, Umesh’s average for the season was 54.23.The rewards, though, have begun to arrive. Five bowling innings into the Border-Gavaskar series, he has taken 12 wickets at 22.00, at a strike rate of 44.5 – better than any other Indian bowler.Umesh has said his improved numbers in this series are a reflection of the confidence he has gained from playing regularly. He also said he has tried to weed out his weaknesses – including a widely-commented-upon tendency to bowl far too many loose balls.”Actually, I feel it is all the same. I’m doing the same things [through the season], but the confidence from playing matches, and the hard work that I have put in [have begun producing results],” he said at the end of the second day in Ranchi. “Usually, I used to be in and out of the team and so I didn’t understand what to do but as I started playing more matches, I was just focusing on my bowling – what I should do and what I shouldn’t.”I have figured out what my bowling is, where I must bowl, what my weaknesses are, and what my strengths are. Earlier, there was criticism in the media that I bowled a lot on the leg stump, and conceded boundaries on the leg side after building pressure for four balls. I have cut that down to a large extent. Slowly, I am getting back to my ways.”Australia batted first in Ranchi, and, on a pitch that played truer than expected, posted a first-innings total of 451. India began their reply confidently, ending day two on 120 for 1. Umesh felt it had been difficult for bowlers to control the flow of runs given the ease of batting on the pitch and the quickness of the outfield.”On this wicket, it is very difficult to stop singles,” he said. “450 has taken them four and a half sessions to get, so on an average [that is] 100 runs per session. We also made 120 in one session. On this pitch, it is hard to stem the flow of runs; it isn’t as easy to bowl as you might think because the singles will keep coming and the outfield is so quick that once it is in the gap, it will go to the boundary. 450 is there or thereabouts [as a good first-innings score here], 20-30 this side or that, but we will try to get to that total.”‘I have figured out what my bowling is’•AFP

Steven Smith top-scored for Australia with an unbeaten 178, his second hundred of the series and his sixth in his last seven Tests against India. Umesh said bowling to Smith was tricky given his unorthodox technique and his pronounced shuffle across the stumps.”Actually, it can be quite difficult,” he said. “You know you what to bowl in a certain way, but sometimes when he keeps moving, moves from leg to off and opens up, then it becomes a bit difficult – your plans are no longer effective. So you have to wait till the last minute, depending on how much he moves, before deciding what to do.”Umesh ended Australia’s innings with figures of 3 for 106. India’s most successful bowler was Ravindra Jadeja, who finished with 5 for 124 from 49.3 overs. Umesh said Jadeja was in the form of his life as a bowler.”I think he is bowling the best he has been. He has got a lot of five-wicket hauls in recent times and he is bowling really well. Jadeja is the kind of bowler whose bowling style suits any type of wicket. His variations and his control are very good. If he gets even a bit of rough, he knows what his aim is, where he has to bowl. I think he is bowling at his best and he is getting his rewards for that.”Virat Kohli went off the field with an injured right shoulder in the 40th over of Australia’s innings, and did not return thereafter. The BCCI have said he is fit to bat, and Umesh said he had already begun batting in the nets.”The bandage will obviously be there because if you have a shoulder injury, you need the bandage to hold it together but he [Kohli] is ready to play,” Umesh said. “He has been batting in the nets as well, so obviously he will come back.”Umesh wasn’t sure if the pitch would continue to behave as it has through the first two days, but did not think it would break up too quickly.”For now, I don’t foresee much change but still hope for the best,” he said. “If there is some change, good, but for now, as you can see, it still is good for batting. Normally you can’t say much about the wicket – how much it will change or help the bowlers.”

ScorecardSteven Smith and Shaun Marsh struck boundary-laden centuries on the first day of Australia’s warm-up game against India A at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Smith and Marsh, at Nos. 3 and 4 respectively, both retired out soon after reaching their hundreds and the Australians went to stumps at 327 for 5.After India A chose to field, David Warner began in sprightly fashion, hitting four fours in his 25 before he was caught behind off 25-year old seamer Navdeep Saini. Matt Renshaw was more sedate: making a 11 off 41 balls. Subsequently, Smith and Marsh added 156 together to carry the Australians along in the middle session. Smith made 107 with 12 fours and a six, while Marsh made 104 with 11 fours and a six.Peter Handscomb, at No. 5, got in some useful batting time too, playing 70 deliveries for his 45. Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade were unbeaten at the close of play on 16 and 7 respectively.”Everyone got a bit out of it today, which was great,” Marsh told reporters at stumps. “As individuals and as a team, it always gives you a bit of confidence when you have a good day in a warm-up game. Smithy batted really well, and all the other batters got a bit out of it as well. So, it was a good day. Hopefully we can continue that over the next couple of days and make sure we’re ready to go [for the Test against India] next week.”The pitch and conditions were relatively tame for Marsh’s maiden first-class game in India. “It nibbled a bit early, it was a bit damp. But as the day went on, it was quite nice to bat and spend some time out there against the quicks and the spinners.” But he knew that could change quite quickly.”I haven’t played Test cricket over here yet. But they’ll take spin, like Sri Lanka did the last year,” Marsh said. “So we know what wickets we’re going to get. It’s just about being ready for it and players having a really strong game plan and sticking to it. Just challenging each other, it’s going to be good fun.”

It’s an odd anachronism that 21 is still considered such an important age.In Australia, for example, 21st birthdays are widely celebrated much the same as 18th birthdays, even though minors legally become adults once they turn 18. Cards are adorned with keys, cakes are baked in the shape of them, symbolizing the bestowing of the keys of adulthood to people who have been adults for three years.For whatever reason, turning 21 remains a mystical moment. The coming of age.If Mitchell Marsh plays in Bengaluru, his Test career will turn 21. But it feels as though he’s been coming of age for a very long time.Consider Marsh when he first hit adulthood. After captaining Australia to victory in the U19s World Cup, he was playing for Deccan Chargers in the IPL as an 18-year-old alongside Adam Gilchrist in a team coached by Darren Lehmann, a fact that seems almost ridiculous in its generational incongruity.Seven years and 20 Tests down the track, Marsh has a batting average of 22.79 and 29 wickets at an average of 37.27. That he is blessed with an abundance of talent is undeniable; that talent comes with expectations his critics feel have not been met.Marsh-bashing is a frequent occurrence on social media and the selection of brothers Mitchell or Shaun is guaranteed to spark a new round. The younger brother has the added burden of being an Australian allrounder, a position that attracts more scrutiny and criticism than most.Just ask Shane Watson.In fact, Marsh does just that. Heralded as the natural replacement for Watson at the end of his Test career, Marsh now seeks him out for advice.”I’ve spoken to Watto,” Marsh said. “Since he’s retired he’s been fantastic. He’s always been open to me giving him a call or a text. I could use him a little bit more, he’s always open for a conversation which is great.”Watson could no doubt give just as much advice on how to cope with flak off the field as he could on how to perform on it. When he passed the allrounder’s mantle on to Marsh it came with a target attached, something that unsettled Marsh to the extent he stopped reading comments about himself on social media altogether.”I try not to look too much into it,” said Marsh. “I wouldn’t have too much confidence if I read all the comments on Facebook. That’s part and parcel of playing cricket for Australia at the top level. People are always entitled to their opinion, that’s fine by me. It doesn’t stress me out. I used to read a lot of it then I had 10 innings where I didn’t get over 30, I didn’t have much to read so I stopped reading it.When the selectors cut a swathe through the Australian squad in the wake of the humiliating loss to South Africa in Hobart they didn’t miss Marsh. He had played only the Perth Test and was left out of the Hobart match in favour of Callum Ferguson. With no opportunities available to play first-class cricket, he returned home to join up with the Perth Scorchers.”In a way it was probably a good thing because I just went back to the Big Bash and enjoyed myself, tried to slog a few and managed to get a few out of the middle,” said Marsh. “But away from the game I worked on a few things that I feel will hold me in good stead if I can play in Australia again or play in other conditions. Sometimes it’s nice to get out of the spotlight. I was obviously under a lot of pressure for a while so in a way it was nice to get back to play with the Scorchers and here I am.”Marsh wasn’t required for bowling duties in the first Test but he applied himself for a watchful 31 runs on the crumbling pitch. For a powerful, attacking batsman, it was a commendable show of restraint in such conditions. It was followed by dressing-room celebrations that Marsh described as the best four hours of his life.”It was good, it gave me a lot of confidence,” said Marsh. “Even though I made only 30, being out in the middle for 80 balls certainly gave me a lot of confidence. Hopefully this wicket is a little better and I can turn it into a big score for us.””I think it’s just about adapting. That’s something we always speak about, Steven (Smith) always talks to us about it. In these conditions you’ve got to earn the right to attack and that’s by having a solid defence. That’s what I’ve been working on.”Marsh has also been working on gaining the trust of his brother. Shaun’s nine-month old son, Austin, is on the tour and Uncle Mitch is being allowed to babysit his nephew for the first time.”You earn your trust,” said Marsh, while conceding he wasn’t very confident on nappy-changing.”It’s taken me a while but I’ve got there now.”If he can produce his best in India, that’s a statement he may make for many Tests beyond his 21st.

Allrounder Mona Meshram has replaced the injured Smriti Mandhana in India’s 14-member squad for the Women’s World Cup qualifiers, which begin in Colombo from February 7.Mandhana, who represented Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League, had hurt her knee during a match against Melbourne Renegades on January 15.

Updated squad for WC qualifiers

Mithali Raj (capt), Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Thirush Kamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Shikha Pandey, Sukanya Parida, Poonam Yadav, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Sushma Verma (wk)
Out: Smriti Mandhana

Meshram was originally left out for the World Cup qualifiers though she was part of the ODI squad in India’s most recent series – against West Indies in November. She has played eight 50-over matches for her country having made her debut in June 2012.India play a practice game against South Africa on February 5 before they start their World Cup qualifiers campaign against hosts Sri Lanka on February 7.The tournament also includes Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and Papua New Guinea. The top four teams go through to the World Cup, joining Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies who automatically qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship. World Cup 2017 will be held from 26 June to 23 July in England.

ScorecardElyse Villani hit nine fours to lead Scorchers’ charge•Getty Images

Under the safety of then Docklands Stadium – with rain hammering down in Melbourne – Perth Scorchers simply proved too powerful for the Melbourne Renegades, who sit bottom of the table with just one win having played half their matches.The Scorchers’ triumph was built on a brilliant innings from Elyse Villani, with some fine late hitting from the lower-middle order setting up a steep target of 156 for the hosts.All five of the Scorchers’ bowlers then impressed, with Katherine Brunt and Suzie Bates tight, and Emma King and Heather Graham picking up two wickets each. Only Anya Shrubsole gave away more than 26 from her four overs, but she picked up the vital wicket of Danni Wyatt, just as she looked set to purr.Unusual opening
It’s not often Suzie Bates falls cheaply, and it’s even more seldom to see the New Zealander – the ICC ODI and T20I Player of the Year – out hit wicket. But that’s exactly what happened with the fifth ball of the match, as her New Zealand team-mate Lea Tahuhu dug in a swift bouncer, which Bates fended away behind square to the leg side, only to drag her bat around and fall hit wicket in the process.You cannot keep a player of Bates’ quality down, however. Typically, it was Bates who put the brakes on the Renegades’ fast start to the chase with a brilliant caught and bowled to dismiss another national team-mate, and the hosts’ key player, Rachel Priest. She proved very difficult to get away, with her four overs costing just 18 runs.This was not Bates’ last moment of brilliance, though; with Renegades needing 13 runs an over and five wickets down, Molly Strano attempted an ambitious ramp off Heather Graham. She caught hold of it nicely, but Bates was stationed at short fine leg, and stuck out her right hand and took a brilliant catch falling backwards.Villani the hero
After Bates’ early dismissal, her opening partner Villani was in plum form, making a magnificent 60 from 43 balls. Early on, she took Molly Strano for consecutive boundaries – over mid-on and straight over the bowler’s head, then peppered the fence at midwicket with five fours in a single Tahuhu over. By the time she fell – caught smartly at long-on in Danni Wyatt’s first over – she had 60 of the Renegades’ 81 runs, while Claire Piparo contributed just seven in the pair’s partnership of 50. Villani’s innings set the Scorchers well on their way to victory.In addition to claiming the wicket of Danielle Wyatt, Anya Shrubsole put in a valiant effort on the field•Getty Images

Renegades fail to capitalise on starts
The Renegades’ chase just never quite got going, with key players getting in then getting out. Sophie Molineux ,who had earlier bowled beautifully to take 1 for 16 from her four overs, put on 32 with Priest to get them off to a good start, before Priest and Kris Britt fell in quick succession. Molineux and Danni Wyatt then looked good as they shared 29 to rebuild, with each striking fine sixes, but they too fell in consecutive overs, with half the target still required.The task proved too steep for the lower order and, despite the best efforts of Strano and Maitlan Brown, they fell short by 32 runs. The Renegades’ star recruit Grace Harris misfired in her first few matches but has missed the last two, apparently with injury; her return cannot come soon enough as the Renegades look to move up the table.Start of Scorchers’ hot streak?
The Renegades were the only team below the Scorchers when this game began, although the table was not telling the whole story, because Scorchers had played just four games (winning two and losing two), fewer than anyone else. Their list certainly looks the part, with the batting prowess of Villani and Bolton, the English opening bowling duo Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, as well as the all-round brilliance of Bates. This was a performance befitting of that side, with plenty of individuals playing their part and only a dropped catch and missed run- out chance blotting the copybook. Is this the start of their rise up the table?