WBBL: Perth Scorchers skipper Sophie Devine blows Melbourne Renegades away with bat and ball

A Sophie Devine storm has blown the Melbourne Renegades away at the WACA Ground and kept the Perth Scorchers on track to fight for a finals berth heading into the last home-and-away game.

The Scorchers leapfrog the women in red on the table after the 30-run victory, but just as importantly, the convincing win is a boost to the side’s dire net run rate.

Devine’s night of fun in front of 2047 Scorchers fanatics started with the bat, striking three massive sixes on her way to 40 from 28 deliveries before the captain steered the run chase with ball in hand.

She had two wickets in the power play and claimed another inside the first six overs, with the Renegades never able to recover, Devine finishing with figures of 4-25.

“She is absolutely divine out there,” spinner Alana King, who is playing through a broken finger, quipped.

“Soph’s found her groove. It may have taken her a few games extra to what she’s normally used to, but either way, she’s contributing with the way she’s going about it at the bat.

“And then, just the all-round performance, and to take four crucial wickets to set the game up for us. She always leads from the front, and I absolutely love having her as skipper.

“She keeps things pretty calm, pretty fun, and we’re all about that. And winning is fun.”

Katie Mack’s reprieve on 12 didn’t do much damage to the Renegades, who bowled first; the opener trapped lbw by Milly Illingworth four runs later.

And the visitors undid the Scorchers’ strong start as Georgia Wareham conned star Beth Mooney into skipping down the wicket, only to dip the ball past her and into the top of leg stump on 21.

Maddy Darke put her head down with Devine as the home side worked their way to 2-83 after 11.

But come the surge, the skipper’s patience turned to a torrent of boundaries.

She hit quick Issy Wong for two maximums in the 13th over, having sent one halfway up the giant sight screen the over before.

Twenty-six runs came from the power surge before Devine fell to Alice Capsey, trying to clear the rope again.

Darke also fell trying to push the rate, bowled by Wong for 36 from 32.

Freya Kemp took over the onslaught, taking 20 runs from a Sophie Molineux over, but came undone as Melbourne were forced to bring an extra fielder into the ring by slow over rates.

The English hitter chipped the ball straight to the fielder who’d just moved up.

But an Alana King cameo, 22 off eight, had the home fans in raptures, the Scorchers completing their 20 on 5-184.

Chloe Ainsworth had the Renegades on the back foot straight away in the chase, removing star Deandra Dottin in the first over before Devine doubled down with the scalp of Courtney Webb in the second over.

Devine’s influence didn’t end there, the all-rounder grabbing two more wickets inside the first six overs to leave the Renegades on the verge of collapse.

Wareham and Nicole Faltum steadied, but Melbourne’s hopes were fading as King drew a false shot from the latter with Paige Schofield claiming a simple catch.

King claimed 2-29 as the visitors fell well short with 9-154.