Brisbane heat 139 for 4 (Rodrigues 45) beaten Melbourne Stars 138 (Garth 31*, Hamilton 5-8)
Rodrigues hit 45 off 31, smashing two big sixes and five fours before being deceived by a slower ball from Annabel Sutherland.
The Heat’s third straight win moved them back to third place in the standings, while the Stars’ season is almost over with two wins in seven games.
Hamilton was crucial, after the 18-year-old entered Sunday’s match with no ground in her eight-game WBBL career. Weeks after finishing his QCE exams in Bundaberg and with his friends partying on the Gold Coast, he had the biggest day of his career.
After Sutherland came out of the blocks quickly for 21, the left-arm bowler bowled her and Yastika Bhatia in their first over. She also caught Meg Lanning behind for 13 as she edged a wide half-volley, before danger woman Tess Flintoff was caught driving at mid-on.
Hamilton then caught Deepti Sharma lbw, becoming the first Heat bowler in history to take a five-wicket haul in the WBBL. Her numbers rank second only to Megan Schutt’s 6-for-19 in competition history, and are level with Amanda-Jade Wellington’s two 5-for-8 returns.
“All my classmates are in school right now, at the Goldy living it up,” Hamilton said, adding that he couldn’t believe what had just happened. “Coming out today I was just trying to back myself. Getting my first wicket and getting 5-fa, all the girls were around me. It was really exciting. I had to be patient, play a few games and it finally came and it was really exciting.”
Hamilton, who is part of the Australian under-19 team, will finally move to Brisbane in the coming months after routinely making the five-hour trip from Bundaberg.
“I was talking to my bowling coach the other day, and now it’s about working on getting the seam up and just going back to spin the ball in,” Hamilton said. “Progressive training will help that, but it’s having the confidence to be able to do it.”
Only late strikes from Kim Garth and Maisy Gibson gave Stars a glimmer of hope, but Heat still chased down the target with ease.
