Wareham content with middle-order role as Sixers loom -

The Renegades are out to inflict the Sydney Sixers’ first loss of the season when the sides meet in Melbourne on Thursday night

Georgia Wareham says she’s not fazed by any added pressure that might accompany the tag of reigning ‘player of the tournament’, as the allrounder again shapes as being crucial to the Renegades’ hopes in Weber WBBL|12.

Wareham produced a career-best 73no from 31 balls in the Renegades’ last outing, and she’ll be looking to repeat the dose when the club hosts the undefeated Sixers on Thursday evening.

The allrounder’s whirlwind innings propelled the Renegades to a match-winning 3-188 against the Strikers.

Already in WBBL|12, Wareham has amassed 175 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 175, batting between No.4-6.

Those performances follow her dominant 2025 season where she struck 277 runs at 147 alongside her 19 wickets, and her T20 World Cup campaign in England, where the Victorian was named in the official team of the tournament after finishing with both the highest batting strike rate, and lowest bowling economy rate.

“There’s probably just more pressure to try and do it again, I guess,” Wareham told cricket.com.au when asked if being ‘player of the tournament’ changed anything leading into WBBL|12. “But I feel like every time I play, I’m trying to do whatever I can for the team anyway.

“Building off the World Cup, I think having a lot of confidence in my role and knowing that I’m going to be playing a similar role for Big Bash is pretty cool, just getting more experience in batting in the middle-order, bowling some different overs as well.”

Since bolting into the Australian team as a teenaged leg-spinner in 2018, Wareham – who hails from Mortlake in Victoria’s west – has evolved into one of the game’s most damaging T20 allrounders, making enormous strides with her batting since returning from a torn ACL in 2022.

Her contributions with bat in particular have been critical so far this season, with the Renegades sitting 2-2 approaching the midway point of the regular season.

She’s leading the club’s run scoring, followed by West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, whose 160 runs have come at a strike rate of 139.

From there the contributors drop off, however, with opener Courtney Webb (109 runs at a strike rate of 109) the only other player to have scored more than 100 runs so far this season, while their next highest run scorer is Nicole Faltum (59 at a strike rate of 95). Their only other batter striking above a run a ball is Deandra Dottin, who has faced just 16 balls this tournament coming in at No.7-8.

Overall, the Renegades have been the second slowest scoring team in the Powerplay, going at 6.43 runs per over, but have only lost three wickets during that phase of the game.

It has prompted some calls for a reshuffling of the batting order, including pushing Wareham up, but the 27-year-old insisted she was embracing her middle-order role.

“I’m happy batting where I am, to be honest,” Wareham said following the win over the Strikers. “I’m just trying to do the role that I can for the team, wherever it is.

“I think Soph (Molineux), having a lefty up there (in the top three) changes things for us and she’s another one, when she gets going as well, I think our batting line-up is pretty scary.

“We still haven’t seen the best of players like Tess Flintoff or Chloe Tryon, and I know Nic Faltum’s done plenty of jobs out there in the middle for us … those guys have still got massive roles to play in the team, because we bat so deep.”

The Renegades have had a six-day break between matches, and will be looking to seal their third win of the season against the undefeated Sixers at Junction Oval on Thursday night.

Weber WBBL|12 Standings

Round 1

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Net Run Rate NRR	Total points PTS
1 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	5	5	0	1.469	10
2 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	4	4	0	1.316	8
3 Sydney Thunder Women THU	5	2	3	0.215	4
4 Brisbane Heat Women HEA	4	2	2	-0.02	4
5 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	4	2	2	-0.35	4
6 Melbourne Renegades Women REN	4	2	2	-0.555	4
7 Melbourne Stars Women STA	5	1	4	-0.611	2
8 Hobart Hurricanes Women HUR	5	0	5	-1.25	0

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points

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