The Melbourne Renegades have gone from bottom to top, claiming their first WBBL title after downing the Brisbane Heat by seven runs in a rain-affected final at the MCG.
West Indies star Hayley Matthews delivered an ultimate all-round performance with bat and ball on Sunday, defying a late cameo from Heat skipper Jess Jonassen.
The Brisbane allrounder almost single-handedly pulled her side to the title with an unbeaten 44.
But Jonassen's opposing captain, Sophie Molineux, kept her nerve by bowling a tight final over as the Heat finished on 6-90, short of their reduced target of 98 from 12 overs.
Matthews began by crafting a restrained 69 in a total of 9-141 after the Renegades were sent in to bat by Jonassen.
Her sparkling knock, coming from 61 balls, was the highest individual score in a WBBL final, breaking the record held by Australian star Beth Mooney (65) for the Heat in 2019.
Matthews took the wickets of Charli Knott and Laura Harris in consecutive balls to end her first over, making it extremely difficult for the Heat to reach their target when they crumbled to 5-37.
The Renegades' decision to allow Matthews to recharge after the T20 World Cup before starting this WBBL paid dividends.
"I felt like last year when I played with the Renegades off the back of our T20 series against Oz, I did pretty well there, but I was just really tired when I got to it (the WBBL)," Barbadian Matthews said.
"Cricket is such a mentally straining game, and I feel like you really do need to refresh.
"Big thanks to Helmo (Renegades coach Simon Helmot). Obviously he noticed that big time last year, and he gave me the opportunity to get to go home and have a few days with some family and friends."
The Heat, who lost last year’s final against Adelaide, were already in trouble at 2-19 when the rain arrived.
Play was delayed for some 40 minutes, reducing the Heat's innings by eight overs.
After finishing last in the 2023-24 edition, the Renegades lost the first two games this season before catching fire to be this tournament's dominant team.
Matthews played a lone hand in the Renegades' innings as teammates kept falling around her, with Georgia Wareham (21) posting the second highest score.
The Heat were left to rue some sloppy fielding, especially early in the innings.
Laura Harris cost them when she took a shot at the stumps with no back-up, resulting in four overthrows.
"We made a few uncharacteristic errors which could or couldn't have cost us, we'll never know," Jonassen said.
"But we weren't really on from that perspective."
While Matthews was on fire, her fellow West Indies teammate Deandra Dottin was run out in horrific fashion after her bat got stuck in the ground just short of the line.
Jonassen was left emotional by the result, marking her sixth loss in a franchise final in the past 12 months.
"People say it's all well and good getting into a final, but I've lost my last six now, so they're starting to pile up," she said.
"It's been all in the last 12 months, so I think it's just sort of come to a head."
After Cricket Australia scheduled the decider for the MCG after the Renegades won hosting rights - instead of the Junction Oval in St Kilda - a crowd of 5844 turned up on Sunday in a pass-mark attendance.
