Sydney Sixers Beat Hobart Hurricanes by 87 Runs — Ashleigh Gardner's 124 and Three Wickets From 6 for 3

By the third over the Sixers had lost Sophia Dunkley, Ellyse Perry and Melie Kerr for 4 runs between them, and Hurricanes must have thought the afternoon's work was half done. What followed was one of the great WBBL innings. Gardner and Alice Capsey added 176 for the fourth wicket, and Gardner's share was 124 off 60, with ten fours and nine sixes, most of them over the leg side.

It was her second WBBL hundred and her highest T20 score. She said afterwards that the start did not show it, but this was a really good wicket if you gave yourself a chance. The irony is that the pitch only looked that good once she had batted on it.

Partnerships like this one need someone content to play the other role. Capsey made 54 not out off 40, and she stayed while Gardner's dismissal set off a late slide of 5 for 7. Nicola Carey finished with 3 for 31, and 196 was still the highest score of a day of records at Drummoyne.

Hurricanes never got close. Caoimhe Bray, just 17, removed Chamari Athapaththu and Rachel Trenaman in the same over, and Gardner struck with her first ball to get Lizelle Lee, then bowled Carey five balls later. Five wickets fell for 9 runs in 20 balls, and at 26 for 5 in the eighth over the game was finished. Maddy Green's 42 not out and Chinelle Henry's 32 were brave, but they only made the margin smaller. Only Grace Harris had previously combined a hundred with three wickets in a WBBL match.

We made the Sixers marginal favourites, and that was right, though there was nothing marginal about 87 runs. Our preview leaned on their bowling discipline and called their batting underrated. We did not see one innings doing quite so much of the work.

The Sixers are 2-0 and top the table on net run rate. The defending champions are 0-2, and they play the Renegades on November 4, with both sides still looking for a first win.