Mikayla Hinkley’s half-century, Chloe Ainsworth’s 4-wicket haul in vain as Tasmania’s Maisy Gibson holds her nerve to guide her side over the line in an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Western Australia led by skipper Chloe Piparo was up against the Tasmanian Tigers led by skipper Elyse Villani in match two of the tournament’s opening round. The Tasmanian Tigers emerged victorious in the 1st match of the season by a comfortable 52-run margin.
In match 2, Western Australia skipper Chloe Piparo won the toss and opted to bat first at the Western Australia Cricket Association Ground W.A.C.A, Perth. The Western Australia openers, wicket-keeper batter Maddy Darke and skipper Chloe Piparo got their side off to a decent start with a 19-run opening partnership. Callie Wilson picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Chloe Piparo in the 3rd over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for Tasmanian Tigers.
Bhavisha Devchand joined wicket-keeper batter Maddy Darke at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 60-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to lay some sort of a platform for their side. Maisy Gibson picked up the wicket of Devchand to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Wicket-keeper batter Maddy Darke soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the Tasmanian Tigers.
Mikayla Hinkley joined Mathilda Carmichael at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 32-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side past the 120-run mark. Callie Wilson returned and picked up the wicket of Mathilda Carmichael to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Lisa Griffith joined Mikayla Hinkley at the crease and the duo stitched a 29-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side to the 150-run mark.
Maisy Gibson returned and picked up the wicket of Lisa Griffith to provide the 5th breakthrough for the Tasmanian Tigers. Chloe Ainsworth soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 6th breakthrough for the Tasmanian Tigers. Lilly Mills joined Mikayla Hinkley at the crease and the duo stitched a 25-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side close to the 200-run mark. Molly Strano cleaned up Lilly Mills to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side.
Zoe Britcliffe joined Mikayla Hinkley at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 29-run partnership for the 8th wicket to take their side past the 200-run mark. Nicola Carey picked up the wicket of Mikayla Hinkley to provide the 8th breakthrough for the Tasmanian Tigers. Western Australia was eventually bundled out for 215 with 27 balls to spare. Mikayla Hinkley (62 off 84 balls), wicket-keeper batter Maddy Darke (39 off 47 balls), Mathilda Carmichael (27 off 28 balls), and Bhavi Devchand (26 off 34 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Western Australia.
Maisy Gibson (10-1-34-2), Heather Graham (7.3-1-30-2), Nicola Carey (5-0-21-2), Callie Wilson (4.5-0-30-2), Molly Strano (7-1-30-1), and Lauren Smith (6-1-33-1) were the top performers with the ball for the Tasmanian Tigers. Chasing a target of 216, the Tasmanian Tigers got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their skipper Elyse Villani in the 2nd over of the run chase. Chloe Ainsworth provided the first breakthrough for Western Australia.
Nicola Carey joined wicket-keeper batter Emma Manix-Geeves at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 33-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to lead some sort of recovery for their side. Zoe Britcliffe picked up the wicket of their wicket-keeper batter Emma Manix-Geeves to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Nicola Carey soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Western Australia with just 50 on the board.
Naomi Stalenberg joined Heather Graham at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 39-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Chloe Ainsworth returned and picked up the wicket of Heather Graham to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Tasmanian Tigers lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring Western Australia back into the contest, crumbling to 6/121. Lauren Smith joined Molly Strano at the crease and the duo stitched a 29-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side to the 150-run mark.
Chloe Ainsworth picked up the wicket of Lauren Smith to provide the 7th breakthrough for Western Australia. Molly Strano soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 8th breakthrough for Western Australia, as the Tigers slipped to 8/155. Maisy Gibson joined Hayley Silver-Holmes at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 59-run partnership for the 9th wicket to take their side on the brink of a hard-fought win.
Mathilda Carmichael picked up the wicket of Hayley Silver-Holmes to provide the 9th breakthrough for her side with a couple runs required for the win. Maisy Gibson held her nerve to guide her side over the line alongside Callie Wilson. Tasmanian Tigers got over the line with one wicket in hand and three balls to spare. Naomi Stalenberg (33 off 40 balls), Hayley Silver-Holmes (31 off 50 balls), Maisy Gibson (30* off 39 balls), Molly Strano (23 off 23 balls), and Heather Graham (23 off 28 balls), were the top performers with the bat for Tasmanian Tigers.
Chloe Ainsworth (10-1-45-4), Lilly Mills (10-0-44-2), Zoe Britcliffe (10-0-36-1), Shay Manolini (5-0-39-1), and Mathilda Carmichael (1-0-3-1) were the top performers with the ball for Western Australia. Chloe Ainsworth was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell with the ball for her side, however, ending up on the losing side.