WDCA girls battle it out
The Warragul and District Cricket Association recently sent an under 17 women's squad to the Sophie Molineux Cup at Yinnar.
Competing against other Gippsland cricket association squads, the annual two-day carnival provided a rare chance for WDCA players to compete in an all junior women competition.
WDCA coach Simon Finger described the tournament as a terrific opportunity for WDCA players to experience representative competition.
"The Sophie Molineux Cup combined challenging cricket in a friendly and supportive environment," he said.
"Our squad faced some experienced competition and held their own. It has inspired everyone to continue with their skill progression.
"It is encouraging to see the growth of women's cricket across the Gippsland leagues as we work towards our goal of stand alone women and girls competitions at WDCA."
WDCA is working with Cricket Victoria to progress opportunities for girls and women to play cricket including a come and try format on Friday evenings for youth girls aged 12 and under. To find out more check out the WDCA Facebook page.
Day one consisted of two games on the Yinnar turf wicket, with the first battle for WDCA against Leongatha and District Cricket Association.
Leongatha won the toss and elected to bat first, establishing a target of 88.
Tessa Naus from Neerim South helped contain the score with two wickets. Amy Stockdale combined with her sister Carissa to take a third, before Sophie Maloney bowled Leongatha's Lola Denver shortly before the close of the innings.
The WDCA had a shaky start in response to the target, losing four wickets in the first five overs.
By the ninth over WDCA were 7/33 and things were looking grim. Amy Nieuwerth provided the steady hand to slow the fall of wickets, joined by Caitlin Muggeridge to make progress on the target.
With Nieuwerth required to retire after facing 25 balls, Dillon Jagoe stepped in to support the work of Muggeridge.
Carissa Stockdale took over after Jagoe was bowled. Muggeridge was required to retire after her 25 balls which facilitated the return of Nieuwerth, who confidently hit the winning run at the start of the 19th over.
Nieuwerth and Carissa Stockdale continued to post runs to establish a final score of 8/102 with Nieuwerth leading scorer with 26 from 34.
The second match was against tournament favourites Cricket Latrobe Valley, who won the toss and sent WDCA in to bat.
WDCA posted a tough-to-defend 4/82 with standout innings from Tessa Naus (20 from 25) and Isabelle Maloney (17 from 25).
Anna Shine from Cricket Latrobe Valley dominated the run chase with three fours and three sixes to post 32 from 25. Rachael Finger was dangerous in the WDCA bowling line-up, netting two wickets, with additional wickets taken by Isabelle Maloney and Amy Stockdale.
The Valley reached the target by the 15th over and completed their innings with 4/109.
Day two was a must win match against Sale-Maffra Cricket Association.
WDCA won the toss and sent Sale-Maffra in to bat.
Olivia Speairs from Sale-Maffra led the scoring with 44 from 25 to an overall target of 3/115. From the field, wickets were taken by Amy Nieuwerth, Tessa Naus and Rachael Finger.
The WDCA chase was led by captain Claire Finger, who hit eight fours to finish with 40 from 25.
In an all-rounder performance, Olivia Speairs took three wickets for Sale-Maffra to nullify the chase, with WDCA finishing 6/92.
The play-off for third saw WDCA face Leongatha who batted first, setting 3/103 with wickets taken by Amy Stockdale, Caitlin Muggeridge and Crystal Allsop.
In response, WDCA took a collaborative batting approach with shorter rotations to enable more batting experience. This saw strong contributions from Amy Stockdale, Amélie Williams, Ella Purvis, Sophie and Isabelle Maloney, and Claire Finger to finish on 3/88.
