While Phoebe Litchfield didn't breath the same rarefied air as in her stunning Women's Big Bash League (WBBL05) debut weekend, her Sydney Thunder still scored two crucial, back-to-back wins over the two Melbourne sides last weekend.
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The Thunder narrowly edged out the Renegades by just three runs at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday night backed that nail-biter up with an equally-thrilling, four-wicket win over the Stars at Bankstown on Sunday afternoon.
Rachel Haynes (36 from 33) top scored and Litchfield contributed 16 from 13 as the Thunder posted 8-132 on Saturday night, before South Africa import Shabnim Ismail bowled superbly to snare 3-14 with the ball.
At one stage the Renegades were reeling at 4-25 in reply but skipper Jess Duffin (69 from 58) and Courtney Webb (32 from 29) reignited the chase, with their side eventually needing just four from Rene Farrell's final delivery.
Hannah Darlington took a stunning catch on the boundary to deny Duffin's miracle though, sealing the Thunder's three-win win, before Alex Blackwell again led from the front on Sunday afternoon.
After the Stars posted 5-141, led by a 79-run opening stand from Elyse Villani (52 from 47) and Lizelle Lee (50 from 34), Blackwell held the Thunder's chase together with a quick-fire, unbeaten 45 from 36 balls.
Rachel Priest (45 from 36) also made a valuable contribution at the top but wickets fell reasonably consistently, including that of Litchfield for four.
Blackwell stayed cool though, she and Farrell (10 not out from six) guided their side home with two balls to spare and four wickets in the bank as well, Blackwell finishing it with a six.
The pair of victories pushes the Thunder up to second on the standings, they trail the Adelaide Strikers on net run rate alone.
The Thunder travel to Tasmania to face the Hobart Hurricanes twice next weekend, before taking on the Perth Scorchers in back-to-back games in Adelaide and Perth the following week.
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