The throwing arms of the Adelaide Strikers proved deadly, as they kept their cool to beat the Melbourne Renegades by 14 runs in their WBBL T20 cricket match at North Sydney Oval.
Chasing the Strikers' modest 116 on Saturday, the Renegades lost four wickets to run-outs in the second half of their innings.
Three of them were to long-distance throws from the outfield with Bridget Patterson's direct hit from deep cover to dismiss Molly Strano a spectacular highlight.
"The pressure they created in the field killed us in the end," Strano said.
It was a reward for Adelaide's dedication to the fielding art, according to player of the match Sophie Devine.
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"For us to have a performance like that out in the field justifies all the hard work you do in the pre-season and the way the girls have been working at training," New Zealand international Devine said.
Devine top-scored for the Strikers with 43 off 38 balls and rescued their innings from a parlous position of 6-44 in the ninth over.
Spinner Strano and medium-pacer Natalie Goodwin smashed through the Strikers top and middle orders, respectively, each finishing with three wickets and conceding just four an over.
The Strikers applied the pressure from the start of the Renegades' reply.
Southern Stars quick Megan Schutt removed both openers inside the first three overs.
She bowled her full complement of four overs in one hit, conceding just 16 runs while spinner and recent Southern Stars debutant Amanda-Jade Wellington was even more miserly, giving up only 11 runs.
The only batting highlight for the Renegades was a classy unbeaten 37 from 30 balls from 18-year-old Sophie Molineux, who looks destined for bigger things.
In the early game played at the adjacent North Sydney Oval No.2, the Hobart Hurricanes beat the Perth Scorchers by five wickets with one over to spare after successfully chasing 120.
