Sarah Glenn and Charli Knott took seven wickets between after Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne both impressed

AAP20-Oct-2023

Sarah Glenn picked up four wickets including a brace in the power surge•Getty Images

Spinners Charli Knott and Sarah Glenn starred with the ball as Brisbane Heat edged Melbourne Renegades by six runs to win a pulsating WBBL clash at Junction Oval.A swashbuckling cameo from Georgia Wareham (36 from 16 balls) put Renegades in position to snatch victory late on Friday after the Heat posted 187 for 9.She and Georgia Prestwidge each belted Courtney Sippel for two fours in the penultimate over, leaving Renegades requiring 23 runs from the last six deliveries.Related

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Wareham blasted fellow spinner Jess Jonassen for six over deep midwicket to put a stunning win within reach. But when Jonassen caught and bowled her from the next delivery, Renegades needed a miracle that did not transpire.Keeping superstar batters Hayley Matthews and Harmanpreet Kaur quiet was key to Heat’s success in the second match of the new tournament, and they could thank spinners Glenn and Knott.English legspinner Glenn inspired a collapse of 5 for 55 either side of the drinks break and emerged as the pick of the bowlers for Heat.She took the crucial wicket of Kaur, who was player of the tournament the last time she appeared for Renegades but mistimed a slog-sweep and was sent packing.Knott broke the Heat’s 55-run opening partnership by taking down Tammy Beaumont with her offspin and in the same over dismissed  Matthews, West Indies’ star player in the recent T20I series against Australia.Earlier, Heat’s openers had their side off to a similarly flying start, taking advantage of the batter-friendly Junction Oval wicket and fast outfield.Australian representative Grace Harris notably belted Ella Hayward for two back-to-back sixes in the second over.In her first WBBL game since rupturing her achilles tendon in last season’s semi-finals, Heat’s reigning topscorer Georgia Redmayne was similarly influential.But Wareham broke the 77-run opening partnership when Harris slogged her to Prestwidge at deep midwicket.Matthews took 2 for 2 just after the drinks break and though Heat never quite replicated their prolific start, their total proved enough.