Perth Scorchers defeated Melbourne Renegades by 9 wickets at the WACA Ground on October 31, completing the chase of 136 with 39 balls to spare. The Scorchers finished on 138 for 1, while the Renegades had posted 136 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs.
Captain Beth Mooney anchored the run chase with an unbeaten 58, and Sophie Devine complemented her with 47 not out. The only wicket to fall in the Scorchers innings was that of Katie Mack, who departed for 9. Devine sealed the contest in emphatic style, striking back-to-back sixes off Georgia Wareham to bring up the win.
The result gave Perth Scorchers a winning start to their WBBL 2026 campaign, while Melbourne Renegades, who were winless entering the fixture, suffered another defeat.
How did Melbourne Renegades collapse in the powerplay?
The Renegades endured a damaging powerplay, losing 4 wickets for just 5 runs across 14 balls. Hayley Matthews, the West Indies allrounder, was removed for 7, and Sophie Molineux fell for just 1. Courtney Webb added only 6 before she too departed, while Tess Flintoff was dismissed for 2 by Alana King, leaving the Renegades in serious trouble early in their innings.
Seamer Chloe Ainsworth was among the chief architects of that collapse, claiming 2 wickets while conceding 22 runs. Pakistan seamer Fatima Sana, on her WBBL debut for the Scorchers, also took 2 wickets and gave away 27 runs, making an immediate impression in her first appearance for the club.
Despite the early chaos, Georgia Wareham and Nicole Faltum rescued the Renegades with a fifth-wicket stand of 109. Wareham top-scored with 62 and Faltum contributed 48, and their partnership gave the total some respectability, though it ultimately proved insufficient against a Scorchers side in commanding form.
What does this result mean for both sides in WBBL 2026?
The Scorchers launched their WBBL 2026 campaign with a statement performance, combining disciplined bowling in the powerplay with a composed run chase. The 9-wicket margin and 39 balls to spare underlined the gulf between the two sides on the night at the WACA Ground. Tayla Vlaeminck chipped in with 1 wicket for 29 runs for the Renegades during the Scorchers innings, but could not prevent the hosts from cruising to victory.
For the Renegades, the defeat extended their winless run into the new campaign. The middle-order recovery from Wareham and Faltum showed promise, but the top-order collapse of 4 wickets for 5 runs in 14 balls proved too costly to overcome. The Melbourne-based side will need to address their fragile top order if they are to find their first win of the season.
