2022–23 Melbourne Renegades WBBL season

Each 2022–23 squad was made up of 15 active players. Teams could sign up to five 'marquee players', with a maximum of three of those from overseas. Marquees are classed as any overseas player, or a local player who holds a Cricket Australia national contract at the start of the WBBL|08 signing period.

Personnel changes made ahead of the season included:[1]

• Australian marquee Tayla Vlaeminck returned to the Renegades, departing the Hobart Hurricanes. Due to injury, Vlaeminck and fellow Australian marquee Georgia Wareham were unavailable for the tournament.
• Holly Ferling departed the Renegades, signing with the Perth Scorchers.
• Jess Duffin did not re-sign with the Renegades.
• Sarah Coyte signed with the Renegades, having previously played for the Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers.
• Georgia Prestwidge signed with the Renegades, having previously played for the Brisbane Heat.
• Indian marquee Jemimah Rodrigues departed the Renegades, signing with the Melbourne Stars.
• Barbadian marquee Hayley Matthews signed with the Renegades, having previously played for the Hobart Hurricanes.
• South African marquee Shabnim Ismail returned to the Renegades for the first time since WBBL|01, having also previously played for the Sydney Thunder.
• English marquee Eve Jones did not initially return to the Renegades, but later signed as a replacement player.[2]

Changes made during the season included:

• Sri Lankan marquee Chamari Athapaththu returned to the Renegades, having played for the side between WBBL|03 and WBBL|05, replacing the injured Harmanpreet Kaur.[3]
• Paris Bowdler signed as a local replacement player, after Josie Dooley sustained a hip injury.[4]
• Hayley Matthews stood in as acting captain for two games, after Sophie Molineux sustained a knee injury.[5]

The table below lists the Renegades players and their key stats (including runs scored, batting strike rate, wickets taken, economy rate, catches and stumpings) for the season.[6][7]

No.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth	Batting style	Bowling style	G	R	SR	W	E	C	S	Notes
Batters
50	Hayley Matthews		19 March 1998	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	14	253	109.52	9	7.04	3	–	Overseas marquee
11	Courtney Webb		30 November 1999	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	14	252	97.29	–	–	1	–
All-rounders
58	Chamari Athapaththu		9 February 1990	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	10	133	90.47	–	–	2	–	Overseas marquee (replacement)
8	Evelyn Jones		8 August 1992	Left-handed	Left-arm medium	4	24	75.00	–	–	1	–	Overseas marquee (replacement)
7	Harmanpreet Kaur		8 March 1989	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Overseas marquee (unavailable)
74	Carly Leeson		9 November 1998	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	14	211	106.56	–	–	1	–
Wicket-keeper
19	Paris Bowdler		24 November 2004	Right-handed	–	1	2	50.00	–	–	0	0	Replacement player; † × 1 inns
3	Josie Dooley		21 January 2000	Right-handed	–	11	185	105.11	–	–	9	0	† × 10 inns
15	Erica Kershaw		23 December 1991	Right-handed	Right-arm leg spin	9	100	119.04	–	–	1	0	† × 2 inns
Bowlers
25	Sarah Coyte		30 March 1991	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	13	48	106.66	10	7.20	4	–
12	Ella Hayward		8 September 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	11	8	40.00	6	6.09	4	–
89	Shabnim Ismail		5 October 1988	Left-handed	Right-arm fast	13	8	53.33	11	6.95	1	–	Overseas marquee
23	Sophie Molineux		17 January 1998	Left-handed	Left-arm orthodox	12	130	89.65	11	7.17	2	–	Captain
26	Rhiann O'Donnell		14 April 1998	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	10	42	97.67	0	14.00	2
16	Georgia Prestwidge		17 December 1997	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	13	13	70.73	5	8.20	2	–
	Tayla Vlaeminck		27 October 1998	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Australian marquee (unavailable)
32	Georgia Wareham		26 May 1999	Right-handed	Right-arm leg spin	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Australian marquee (unavailable)

•   The top 4 teams advanced to the knockout phase

All times are AEDT.

In the 15th meeting between the two Melbourne teams—the first to take place in their home city since 30 November 2019—the Renegades lost three early wickets before Josie Dooley and Courtney Webb formed a 50-run partnership from 39 balls. Sarah Coyte hit two sixes off the bowling of Kim Garth in the 20th over, helping to set a target of 149 for victory.

The Stars began the run chase sluggishly, and failed to capitalise on several controversial umpiring decisions in their favour. Alice Capsey survived a close stumping chance but was ultimately dismissed for just eleven, while the Decision Review System overturned an LBW call for Garth who would nevertheless fall to the bowling of Coyte in the following over. Earlier in the innings, Coyte became the eighth player in WBBL history to claim 100 career wickets.[12][13]

Annabel Sutherland breathed life into the contest as the Stars scored 22 runs from the 14th over against the previously economical Ella Hayward. The Renegades created several opportunities to effectively close out the match but put down key catching chances, which included an error in the field by Shabnim Ismail off her own bowling.

Needing an unlikely 23 runs from six balls to win, Sutherland promptly launched two sixes to dramatically shift the game's momentum. While delivering the third ball of the final over, Renegades captain Sophie Molineux suffered a knee injury which forced her from the field. Georgia Prestwidge was subsequently given the task of finishing the over, having not bowled throughout the innings up to that point. Sutherland proceeded to hit another six, and Stars captain Nicole Faltum then scored one run off the last delivery of the match to clinch her team's sixth win against their crosstown rivals.[14]

• Most runs: Hayley Matthews – 253 (24th in the league)[15]
• Highest score in an innings: Chamari Athapaththu – 75* (59) vs Hobart Hurricanes, 3 November 2022[16]
• Most wickets: Shabnim Ismail, Sophie Molineux – 11 each (equal 24th in the league)[17]
• Best bowling figures in an innings: Sophie Molineux – 4/23 (4 overs) vs Adelaide Strikers, 16 October 2022[18]
• Most catches (fielder): Sarah Coyte, Ella Hayward – 4 each (equal 31st in the league)[19]
• Player of the Match awards:
  • Sophie Molineux – 2
  • Erica Kershaw, Georgia Prestwidge – 1 each
• WBBL|08 Player of the Tournament: Hayley Matthews (equal 9th)[20]
• Renegades Player of the Season: Sophie Molineux[21]