All-round Gardner Sparks Sixers to Crucial Win Over Stars

The Sydney Sixers continued their late-season resurgence in the WBBL with a hard-fought 16-run victory over the Melbourne Stars at Drummoyne Oval on Wednesday, less than two weeks after being thrashed by the same opponents.

Ash Gardner produced a commanding all-round performance, smashing her highest league score in more than two years and collecting three wickets to lift the Sixers to equal-second on the ladder alongside the Stars, with a game in hand.

The match came just 16 days after Meg Lanning dismantled the Sixers with a brilliant 135 — still the season’s top score — in a one-sided encounter. But the form lines have shifted dramatically since then: the Sixers have compiled a three-match winning streak (plus one no-result), while the Stars have slipped with back-to-back defeats, falling three points behind the table-leading Hobart Hurricanes.

After choosing to bat first, the Sixers set the tone through Gardner, who hammered 50 off 31 balls, including seven fours and two sixes — her best WBBL score since October 2023. Opening batter Sophia Dunkley added a valuable 41 as the Sixers posted a competitive 164 for 5.

The Stars’ reply faltered early when Gardner trapped Lanning lbw for just eight, plunging them to 30 for 4.

But the visitors mounted a spirited recovery through Maia Bouchier, playing her first match of the season as a replacement for Marizanne Kapp. Bouchier and Kim Garth combined for a crucial 82-run fifth-wicket stand, reigniting the contest.

Gardner broke the partnership by removing Garth for 17, but Dani Gibson’s rapid trio of boundaries kept the chase alive. At 131 for 5 in the 18th over, the Stars looked poised for a late surge until Bouchier drilled a low drive off Mady Villiers, only for Lauren Cheatle to pull off a superb catch at cover. Bouchier’s outstanding innings ended on 67 from 40 balls, the highest of the match.

With Gibson falling soon after for 17, the Sixers regained control, restricting the Stars to 148 for 8. Gardner capped her stellar outing with 3 for 31 from her four overs.

The Sixers will finish their regular-season campaign against the Melbourne Renegades and Adelaide Strikers, while the Stars will look to steady their form in a crucial clash with the Sydney Thunder.