Molly Strano, Nicola Carey, and Lauren Smith’s all-round contributions give the defending champions Tasmania a comprehensive victory in the tournament opener.
The ongoing edition of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) is the 29th edition of the tournament since its inception in the year 1996-97. The tournament commenced on 24th September 2024 and will conclude on 2nd March 2025.
A total of 7 teams namely, Australian Capital Territory Meteors, South Australia Scorpions, Western Australia, New South Wales Breakers, Tasmania Tigers, Queensland Fire, and Victoria are participating in the ongoing 29th edition of the tournament. Tasmania Tigers led by skipper Elyse Villani were up against Western Australia led by skipper Chloe Piparo in the tournament opener at the Western Australia Cricket Association (W.A.C.A) Ground, Perth.
Tasmania skipper Elyse Villani won the toss and opted to bat first in the tournament opener at the W.A.C.A. The Tasmania openers Lizelle Lee and skipper Elyse Villani got their side off to a good start with a 47-run opening partnership. The pair scored at a rate of around six runs an over. Amy Edgar picked up the wicket of Lizelle Lee to provide the first breakthrough for Western Australia.
Tasmania lost a couple of wickets in quick succession, including the wicket of their skipper to bring Western Australia back into the contest. Wicket-keeper batter Emma Manix-Geeves joined Nicola Carey at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 29-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Amy Edgar returned and picked up the wicket of Nicola Carey to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
Tabatha Saville joined the wicket-keeper batter Emma Manix-Geeves at the crease and the duo stitched a 27-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Zoe Britlciffe picked up the wicket of wicket-keeper batter Emma Manix-Geeves to provide the 5th breakthrough for Western Australia. Molly Strano joined Tabatha Saville at the crease and the duo stitched a 34-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark.
Chloe Ainsworth picked up the wicket of Molly Strano to provide the 6th breakthrough for her side. Lauren Smith joined Tabatha Saville at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 34-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side past the 200-run mark. Zoe Britcliffe returned and cleaned up Tabatha Saville to provide the 7th breakthrough for Western Australia.
Tasmania were eventually bundled out for 219 with seven balls to spare. They lost their last three wickets for just 18 runs. Tabatha Saville (46 off 76 balls), wicket-keeper batter Emma Manix-Geeves (26 off 51 balls), skipper Elyse Villani (25 off 30 balls), and Nicola Carey (21 off 33 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Tasmania. Lilly Mills (9.5-0-46-5), Amy Edgar (10-1-22-2), Zoe Britcliffe (9-1-33-2), and Chloe Ainsworth (7-0-44-1), were the top performers with the ball for Western Australia.
Chasing a target of 220, the Western Australia openers wicket-keeper batter Maddy Darke and skipper Chloe Piparo got their side off to a cautious start with a 20-run opening partnership. Hayley Silver-Holmes picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Chloe Piparo to provide the first breakthrough for Tasmania. Wicket-keeper batter Maddy Darke soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Tasmania.
Mathilda Carmichael joined Amy Edgar at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 27-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Maisy Gibson picked up the wicket of Mathilda Carmichael to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. Western Australia lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring Tasmania into a dominant position in the game. Chloe Ainsworth joined Mikayla Hinkley at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 35-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark.
Lauren Smith picked up the wicket of Mikayla Hinkley to provide the 6th breakthrough for Tasmania. Western Australia lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to further derail the run chase. Charis Bekker joined Chloe Ainsworth at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 22-run partnership for the 9th wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark.
Western Australia were bundled out for 167, with 47 balls to spare. As a result, they fell 52 runs short of the target. Chloe Ainsworth (40 off 54 balls), Amy Edgar (29 off 27 balls), Mikayla Hinkley (24 off 44 balls), skipper Chloe Piparo (13 off 20 balls), and Mathilda Carmichael (12 off 28 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Western Australia. Lauren Smith (7.1-0-39-3), Molly Strano (10-1-29-2), Nicola Carey (8-1-24-2), Maisy Gibson (10-0-38-2), and Hayley Silver-Holmes (4-0-19-1) were the top performers with the ball for the Tigers.
Molly Strano was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performances. She scored (19 off 30 balls) with the bat and apart from her exploits with the bat, she also returned with sensational match figures (10-1-29-2) with the ball. She played a crucial role in helping her side get over the line.
