Amy Jones and Meg Lanning hit fifties as Stars build against Heat

Amy Jones and Meg Lanning scored half-centuries for Melbourne Stars against Brisbane Heat at Junction Oval on Thursday, putting on 108 for the first wicket in their Women's Big Bash League encounter. According to BBC Sport's live scorecard, the Stars were 158 for four after 19.2 overs, with Brisbane yet to bat and no result confirmed.

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Jones contributed 74 from 52 deliveries, including 10 fours, before Georgia Redmayne stumped her off Sianna Ginger with the score at 148 for four in the 19th over. Lanning had earlier made 52 from 45 balls, striking seven boundaries before Annie O'Neil caught her off Sarah Glenn at 13.1 overs to end the opening partnership.

Brisbane followed that breakthrough by removing Annabel Sutherland for two, also caught by O'Neil, this time from Ginger's bowling. The Stars were then 113 for two. Dani Gibson added seven before Orla Prendergast bowled her at 134 for three, leaving Jones as the remaining member of the opening pair until her dismissal at 18.4 overs.

Georgia Prestwidge supplied a late burst, reaching an unbeaten 16 from six deliveries with a four and a six in the latest available update. Charlie Dean was alongside her on one. Glenn had completed her four overs with one wicket for 21 runs, while Ginger had two for 22 from three and Prendergast one for 36 from four.

The Stars had chosen to bat after winning the toss in the competition's 19th match. Their opening pair accounted for 126 runs between them, with 17 fours and neither hitting a six. Those contributions provided the bulk of Melbourne's score despite Brisbane taking four wickets between the start of the 14th over and the closing stages.

The performance followed a difficult opening stretch for Melbourne. In its squad announcement, the club said it had one victory from its first five matches, including narrow home defeats by Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers. Lanning entered this game with 202 runs at an average of 40.40 from those five appearances. Her latest fifty extended that run of scoring, although the ongoing match had not yet established whether Melbourne would secure a second win.