Twin fifties from skipper Emma Barsby and Eleanor Larosa followed by a rampage from Amanda-Jade Wellington with the ball gave South Australia a massive victory
South Australia led by skipper Jemma Barsby were up against Australian Capital Territory Meteors led by skipper Katie Mack in the 4th match of the 2024-25 Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL). South Australia won the toss and opted to bat first at the Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide. The South Australian openers Emma de Broughe and wicket-keeper batter Bridget Patterson got their side off to a flying start with a 53-run opening partnership, scoring at a rate of over 8 runs an over.
Wicket-keeper batter Bridget Patterson was found short of her crease to provide the first breakthrough for the Meteors. Courtney Webb joined Emma de Broughe at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 35-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Holly Ferling cleaned up Emma de Broughe to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
South Australia suffered a collapse as they lost their next four wickets for just 48 runs to bring the Meteors firmly back into the contest. Skipper Jemma Barsby joined Annie O’Neil at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 45-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side close to the 200-run mark. Holly Ferling returned and cleaned up Annie O’Neil to provide the 7th breakthrough for the Meteors.
Eleanor Larosa joined skipper Jemma Barsby at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 89-run partnership for the 8th wicket to take their side to the 270-run mark. Zoe Cooke picked up the big wicket as she cleaned up the opposition skipper Jemma Barsby to provide the 8th breakthrough for her side. She completed her well-deserved half-century before getting dismissed.
South Australia were eventually bowled out for 284, in their quota of 50 overs. Skipper Jemma Barsby (58 off 72 balls), Eleanor Larosa (50* off 65 balls), Courtney Webb (40 off 40 balls), Annie O’Neil (36 off 37 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Bridget Patterson (32 off 21 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Australia. Anesu Mushangwe (10-0-53-3), Holly Ferling (10-0-59-2), Zoe Cooke (10-0-57-1), and Carly Leeson (6-0-42-1) were the top performers with the ball for the Meteors.
Chasing a target of 285, the ACT Meteors got off to a poor start as they lost a couple of wickets, including the wicket of their skipper Katie Mack in quick succession inside the first 6 overs of the run chase. Alisha Bates joined wicket-keeper batter Paris Bowdler at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 31-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark.
Amanda-Jade Wellington picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Paris Bowdler to provide the 3rd breakthrough for South Australia. ACT Meteors suffered a mini collapse as they lost their next three wickets for just 37 runs to bring South Australia in a dominating position in the game. Zoe Cooke joined Annie Wikman at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 39-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side to the 130-run mark.
Amanda-Jade Wellington returned and picked up the wicket of Annie Wikman to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side. Gabrielle Sutcliffe joined Zoe Cooke at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 50-run partnership for the 8th wicket to take their side closer to the 200-run mark. Emma de Broughe cleaned up Gabrielle Sutcliffe to provide the 8th breakthrough for South Australia.
The Meteors were eventually bundled out for 187, with 67 balls to spare. As a result, they fell 97 runs short of the target. Zoe Cooke (41* off 58 balls), Annie Wilkman (35 off 38 balls), wicket-keeper batter Paris Bowdler (30 off 28 balls), Gabrielle Sutcliffe (22 off 38 balls), and Alisha Bates (21 off 26 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the Meteors.
Amanda-Jade Wellington (8-0-39-3), Emma de Broughe (1.5-0-2-3), Eleanor Larosa (5-1-20-1), skipper Jemma Barsby (7-0-33-1), Courtney Neale (6-1-35-1), and Kate Peterson (5-0-30-1) were the top performers with the ball for South Australia. Skipper Jemma Barsby was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance. She scored a vital half-century (58 off 72 balls) with the bat and followed that up with the match figures of (7-0-33-1) with the ball for her side. She played a crucial role in helping her side get over the line by a massive 97-run margin.