White Ferns star Sophie Devine hit five consecutive sixes to help the Adelaide Strikers to the top of the Women's Big Bash League with a 17-run victory over the Melbourne Stars in Adelaide on Sunday.
All-rounder Devine delighted the crowd and rocked the Stars by going 6-6-6-6-6 off the last five balls of the Strikers' innings to power her side to 164/4.
She finished with 85 not out off just 56 balls, boosting her to second on the WBBL run charts with 335 at a strike rate of 135.
Her savage assault wrecked the bowling figures of young spinner Madeline Penna (3/50) and ultimately proved the difference as the Stars posted 147/8 in reply.
Devine's incredible innings came from a modest foundation.
Playing second-fiddle early to White Ferns team-mate Suzie Bates (36) in the pair's 54-run opening partnership, she spent much of her innings visibly annoyed, scratching around and searching for timing before finally breaking free in stunning fashion.
"I soaked up that many balls at the start of the innings, I had to do something," Devine said.
"I tried from ball one, and it wasn't pretty.
"I was struggling all innings, and I thought, 'stuff this, let's get the shackles going and have a crack'.
"The way the Stars batted I thought we under real threat but to stick at it the way we did and come away with the win was really pleasing."
Devine - who averages 112 at Karen Rolton Oval with a strike rate of 151.4 - also got the job done with the ball, snaring 2/19.
It included the fortuitous scalp of Stars captain Elyse Villani (1) off a loose full toss - Devine's second delivery - taken gleefully by Bridget Patterson in the deep.
Devine's magical knock looked in vain while South Africans Mignon du Preez (70) and Lizelle Lee (52) were at the crease, the pair putting together a blistering 113-run second-wicket stand to give the Stars every chance of running down the total.
Strikers skipper Bates introduced herself into the attack and her decision paid immediate dividends when she claimed the big-hitting Lee, sparking a 7/29 collapse to put Adelaide firmly back in the driver's seat.
When Tegan McPharlin then stumped the red-hot du Preez and Penna off successive balls from leggie Amanda-Jade Wellington (3/31), the match was as good as over.
AAP
