Devine, Strikers wreck Stars in WBBL
Sophie Devine's all-round brilliance has launched the Adelaide Strikers to a comprehensive 57-run thrashing of the Melbourne Stars and to the top of the WBBL table.
Devine crunched an unbeaten 77 on Saturday to lift the Strikers to 2-153 before taking 3-13 to help restrict the bottom-placed Stars to a paltry 8-96 in reply at Nuriootpa, north of Adelaide.
Six days after famously launching Stars wrist-spinner Maddy Penna for five-straight sixes, Devine continued her purple patch, thumping three sixes in her 58-ball knock.
The Strikers lost captain Suzie Bates (18) and Tahlia McGrath (10) before Devine - with her fourth-successive 50 - combined with Bridget Patterson (41 not out) to belt 102 off the last 11 overs to leave the Stars reeling.
Only Brisbane's Beth Mooney and Sydney Sixer Ellyse Perry have more runs this series than Devine's 412 at 68.66.
Devine is also the WBBL's leading wicket-taker with 13 at 15.38 after tearing apart the Stars' top order.
She snared in-form South African duo Lizelle Lee (five) and Mignon du Preez (five) inside her first two overs and, when Stars skipper Elyse Villani departed for five, the visitors were 3-20 just after the powerplay and never threatened a recovery.
Nicola Hancock did her best to add some respectability for the Stars with a career-best 26 not out, but the damage already inflicted by Devine was far too severe.
