Sydney Thunder Women vs Melbourne Renegades Women, WBBL T20 2022, Today Match Prediction 15 November 2022

sytw vs mlrw Match Prediction & Analysis

The two lowest-ranked teams in the WBBL points table will go head-to-head once again in the league. The last time these two teams met, Melbourne Renegades chased down 122 runs with 5 wickets in hand.

Skipper Sophie Molineux led the run chase as she resurrected the MLRW innings after an early collapse. In the first game of the season in Canberra, both teams would be looking for batting gains.

Melbourne Renegades have struggled to chase totals throughout the season and the win against SYT should put them in high spirits going ahead. Before their loss against MLRW, Sydney Thunder lost back-to-back matches chasing the exact total of 163 runs.

There haven’t been any impactful knocks from the key batters in SYTW. Though both sides are pretty much out of the race to playoffs, they would like to finish at number 6, the highest position possible for either of the teams.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Sydney Thunder Women Preview

If it wasn’t for rain interrupting the play in their last game against Adelaide Strikers, Sydney Thunder would be looking at another straight loss. The bowlers had conceded 92 runs for 3 wickets in the 15th over.

If the opposition could manage anything over the 150-run mark, it would have been quite a challenge for Syndey Thunder Women. In the last 4 losses, SYT have failed to chase down a target on two occasions and lost while defending a total on the other two.

Amy Jones, who came in for Tammy Beaumont scored a fifty in the last game against MLR. It was rather at a very slow pace and the wicket-keeper batter from England would back herself to give her side a much better start this time around.

Her opening partner Phoebe Litchfield has played a few good knocks at the top and is a promising player. The most crucial aspect of the SYTW batting lineup is the middle order which features Sammy-Jo Johnson, Rachel Haynes, and Chloe Tryon. The strike rates get better as you go down the order.

Haynes will be crucial for a comeback from the batters while Vakarewa, Lauren Smith, and Darlington will be the key bowlers to watch out for. There is a great variety in this bowling attack and there can be someone or the other stepping up and delivering for the Sydney Thunder Women.

Sydney Thunder Women Predicted Playing XI:

Amy Jones, Phoebe Litchfield, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Rachael Haynes (c), Chloe Tryon, Tahlia Wilson (wk), Hannah Darlington, Lauren Smith, Lea Tahuhu, Belinda Vakarewa, Samantha Bates

Sydney Thunder Women Actual Playing XI:

Lauren Smith, Phoebe Litchfield, Amy Ellen Jones, Chloe Tryon, Sammy Jo Johnson, Tammy Beaumont, Belinda Vakarewa, Tahlia Wilson, Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington, Rachael Haynes

Melbourne Renegades Women Preview

Even though they’ve got one more win than SYT, Melbourne Renegades are at the bottom in the points table with 5 points from 12 matches. 

With just two more matches to go, we can expect some changes in the playing XI as there’s nothing left to lose for MLR Women. And trying out different combinations can bring forth some potential match-winners for the future.

After losing 3 wickets in the powerplay for just 30 runs while chasing a relatively low total against Sydney Thunder, the Renegades were in trouble. However, skipper Sophie Molineux came to the rescue with her unbeaten 55 off 45 balls at number 4.

She managed to steady the innings and lead her team to their 2nd win of the season. Since that win, Melbourne Renegades Women have been at their worst. They have suffered back-to-back batting collapses with no heroics from the skipper or any other batter in the lineup.

They were bowled out for 80 against Hobart Hurricanes followed by a score of 80 all-out against Perth Scorchers. Finally, the misery ended as Renegades put up a total of 148 runs batting first against the Stars at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. 

This may have lifted their spirits as Josephine Dooley scored a fifty at number 3 but it was in a losing cause nonetheless. The key players for MLRW will be Hayley Matthews, Dooley, Molineux, and Courtney Webb in the batting lineup.

There are a few promising bowlers in the side who can make a big impact and with the right support from the batters, they can even win matches. Watch out for Matthews, Sarah Coyte, and S Ismail with the ball.

Melbourne Renegades Women Predicted Playing XI:

Hayley Matthews, Chamari Athapaththu, Josephine Dooley (wk), Sophie Molineux (c), Courtney Webb, Carly Leeson, Georgia Prestwidge, Sarah Coyte, Erica Kershaw, Shabnim Ismail, Ella Hayward

Melbourne Renegades Women Actual Playing XI:

Sarah Coyte, Georgia Prestwidge, Shabnim Ismail, Hayley Matthews, Erica Kershaw, Chamari Atapattu, Carly Leeson, Courtney Webb, Rhiann O' Donnell, Josephine Dooley, Ella Hayward

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

While there haven’t been many games at this venue and so it may be a little tricky to gauge the pitch, traditionally, Manuka Oval has offered a batting-friendly wicket. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

Venue Details

The outfield at this venue is fast and batters would only need to find the gaps to score boundaries. The average 1st innings score at this venue in Women’s T20Is is 152 runs from 14 matches. The highest score at this venue is 162 by Sydney Thunder Women while the record for the lowest total belongs to Melbourne Renegades Women for their 68 all-out.

Toss: To Bowl

The teams batting second have a better record at this venue in Canberra with 2 of the 3 women’s domestic matches and 12 of the 19 men’s domestic matches going in their favour. Renegades have already defeated Thunder once in this league while chasing and will back themselves to repeat it once again.