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Adelaide strikers 177 for 3 (Mack 86, Wolfardt 47, Day 3-24) won Melbourne Stars 29 (Shutt 3-3, Wellington 3-4), a difference of 148 points
The Adelaide Strikes made a record-breaking thrilling start to their WBBL title defence, dismissing the Melbourne Stars for just 29 en route to a 148-run thumping win at Karen Rolton Oval.
No Stars made double figures with Sophia Dunkley top-scoring with 9.
Captain Tahlia McGrath picked up the final two wickets to complete the embarrassingly one-sided game.
The previous largest margin of victory was the Sydney Sixers’ 103-run win over the Hobart Hurricanes.
“We started unrealistically with the bat with Katie and Laura and then with the ball as well with Moshe [Mushangwe] And the shooter [Schutt]“Very happy,” McGrath told Fox Sports.
He added: “A perfect start, but it is a long tournament. It is a really difficult tournament, so we have to be at our best during the next six weeks.”
The attacking openers enjoyed some poor bowling, notching at least one boundary in each of the first nine.
Mack got 11 points from the first Kim Garth, chipped in a few boundaries back and scored 49 of her team’s first 55 points. She hit 10 fours in her first 50, consistently smashing length deliveries to the leg boundary.
Sophie Day temporarily pulled her team’s left arm into the game. She held Wolfhardt long and three balls later Mac was stumped by Nicole Faltom.
Bridget Patterson was also caught on the day, but McGrath produced some powerful strikes in the closing minutes.
The Stars’ response was disastrous as the visitors played a series of loose shots and provided the forwards with pick-and-roll drills.
Captain Meg Lanning fell to Shutt in the second innings for 1, Mushangwe removed England stars Dunkley and Alice Capece in the third innings and the innings never recovered.
