The Melbourne Renegades is an Australian women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Melbourne, Victoria. They are one of two teams from Melbourne to compete in the Women's Big Bash League, the other being the Melbourne Stars.
On 2 June 2026, it was reported that the brands of the Renegades and the Melbourne Stars would be merged into a new franchise, utilising the Stars' existing WBBL license. Nick Cummins, the CEO of Cricket Victoria (CV), has described the new team as "just a merger of brands and staff" and "not a merger of the teams". Two weeks later, it was confirmed that both the Renegades and the Stars would compete in the upcoming 2026–27 season under their existing names.
Contents
History
Formation
One of eight founding WBBL teams, the Melbourne Renegades are aligned with the men's team of the same name. On 3 June 2015, Cricket Victoria announced Lachlan Stevens would "take charge of one of Melbourne's two WBBL teams". Stevens would be confirmed as inaugural head coach of the Renegades in the following months. At the official WBBL launch on 10 July, Sarah Elliott was unveiled as the team's first ever signing. Elliott would also become the inaugural captain.
The Renegades played their first match against the Hobart Hurricanes at Aurora Stadium in Launceston on 11 December, losing by 35 runs. It took until their fifth match, a 20 December encounter with the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba, to register a win.
Rivalries
The Renegades and Sydney Sixers have combined to produce some of the most "thrilling" and "controversial" matches in the league's history, particularly revolving around close finishes, including:
3 January 2018, GMHBA Stadium: In "bizarre" scenes, Sixers batter Sarah Aley attempted to score a game-tying run on the last delivery despite Renegades wicket-keeper Emma Inglis, having received the ball over the stumps from fielder Kris Britt and thus believing the match to be over, already celebrating victory. After deliberation, officiating umpires deemed the ball was not dead and the run would be allowed, thereby forcing a super over which the Renegades nevertheless went on to win.
19 January 2019, Drummoyne Oval: In the Renegades' first finals appearance, with three runs required off the last ball for an upset victory, Sophie Molineux was short of her ground attempting the winning run due to a "miracle" piece of team fielding by Sixers players Erin Burns, Sarah Aley and Alyssa Healy. In the resulting super over, Sixers captain Ellyse Perry hit a six off Molly Strano to eliminate the Renegades from the tournament. The match, in conjunction with the other semi-final played earlier in the day, was hailed as a showcase of "the irrefutable rise of women's cricket" and "sport with drama, skill and unpredictability – a potent recipe for success".
17 November 2019, Drummoyne Oval: The Renegades, requiring 28 runs off the last 12 balls with only three wickets in hand, pulled off a "great escape" victory against the Sixers through a last-ball six from Courtney Webb against the bowling of Marizanne Kapp. It marked the first time a WBBL team had won a match when needing more than four runs off the final legal delivery. The ramifications of the result were season-shaping as the Renegades went on to edge out the Sixers for fourth spot on the ladder, making it the first season the Sixers would fail to qualify for finals.
The Renegades hold an 8–4 record over their cross-town rivals, the Melbourne Stars. Noteworthy matches include:
1 January 2017, Melbourne Cricket Ground: Played in front of a reported crowd of 24,547—as part of a double-header with the men's BBL, setting a new record for the highest non-standalone WBBL attendance—the rain-affected match ended in anticlimactic fashion with the Renegades adjudged nine-wicket winners via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method. Stars captain Meg Lanning initially protested the ruling with officiating umpires, claiming she had been given false information about the par score by the match referee.
Captaincy records
There have been nine captains in the Renegades' history, including matches featuring an acting captain.
Source:
Current squad
The squad of the Melbourne Renegades for the 2026 Women's Big Bash League season as of 15 October 2026.
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Players
Australian representatives
The following is a list of cricketers who have played for the Renegades after making their debut in the national women's team (the period they spent as both a Renegades squad member and an Australian-capped player is in brackets):
Overseas marquees
The following is a list of cricketers who have played for the Renegades as overseas marquees:
Administration and support staff
Honours
Champions: 1 – WBBL|10
Runners-Up: 0
Minor Premiers: 1 – WBBL|10
Finals Series Appearances: 4 – WBBL|04, WBBL|05, WBBL|07, WBBL|10
Wooden Spoons: 2 – WBBL|01, WBBL|09
Statistics and awards
Team stats
Win–loss record:
Highest score in an innings: 4/207 (20 overs) vs Brisbane Heat, 6 November 2021
Highest successful chase: 1/186 (19 overs) vs Adelaide Strikers, 11 November 2024
Lowest successful defence: 110 (20 overs) vs Sydney Thunder, 7 November 2020
Largest victory:
Batting first: 81 runs vs Adelaide Strikers, 23 October 2023
Batting second: 55 balls remaining vs Brisbane Heat, 23 December 2017
Longest winning streak: 8 matches (9 November 2024 – 11 November 2025)
Longest losing streak: 8 matches (26 October – 12 November 2023)
Source:
Individual stats
Most runs: Sophie Molineux – 1,742
Highest score in an innings: Danni Wyatt-Hodge – 87 (55) vs Brisbane Heat, 27 November 2019
Highest partnership: Sophie Molineux and Emma Inglis – 102* vs Hobart Hurricanes, 14 January 2018
Most wickets: Molly Strano – 104
Best bowling figures in an innings: Molly Strano – 5/15 (4 overs) vs Melbourne Stars, 2 January 2016
Most catches (fielder): Georgia Wareham – 45
Most dismissals (wicket-keeper): Josie Dooley – 41 (28 catches, 13 stumpings)
Source:
Individual awards
Player of the Match:
Sophie Molineux – 13
Danni Wyatt-Hodge – 6
Amy Satterthwaite and Georgia Wareham – 5
Jess Duffin, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, and Molly Strano – 4
Rachel Priest – 3
Courtney Webb – 2
Charis Bekker, Maitlan Brown, Alice Capsey, Deandra Dottin, Nicole Faltum, Grace Harris, Erica Kershaw, Anna Lanning, Lizelle Lee, Carly Leeson, Georgia Prestwidge, and Jemimah Rodrigues – 1
WBBL Player of the Tournament:
Amy Satterthwaite – WBBL|03
Harmanpreet Kaur – WBBL|07
Georgia Wareham – WBBL|11
WBBL Player of the Final:
Hayley Matthews – WBBL|10
WBBL Team of the Tournament:
Molly Strano (3) – WBBL|02, WBBL|04, WBBL|05
Sophie Molineux (2) – WBBL|04, WBBL|10
Georgia Wareham (2) – WBBL|10, WBBL|11
Amy Satterthwaite – WBBL|03
Lea Tahuhu – WBBL|03
Jess Duffin – WBBL|05
Danni Wyatt-Hodge – WBBL|05