Western Australia, led by skipper Chloe Piparo, were up against Queensland Fire, led by skipper Jess Jonassen, in the 3rd game of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) 2025-26. New South Wales won by 3 wickets against Victoria in the 2nd game, and South Australia defeated the Tasmanian Tigers by 36 runs in the 3rd game of the WNCL 2025/26.
The Western Australian opening batters, Maddy Darke and skipper Chloe Piparo, got their side off to a cautious start, with a 23-run opening partnership, after skipper Chloe Piparo won the toss and opted to bat first. In the 8th over of the innings, skipper Chloe Piparo drove it straight back to the bowler Bonnie Berry, who got a fingertip to it, which ended up disturbing the stumps at the non-strikers’ end. Maddy Darke (11 off 28 balls), taking an early start, was found short of her crease to provide the first breakthrough for Queensland Fire in the powerplay.
Mikayla Hinkley joined skipper Chloe Piparo at the crease, and the duo led a recovery with a crucial 48-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. Just when the skipper (35 off 43 balls) was growing in confidence, the indecisiveness, closing the bat face a tad bit early on the flick, ballooned the ball in the air, and the bowler Nicola Hancock completed an easy return catch on her follow-through to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side in the 18th over of the innings.
A solid fightback from the middle-order through substantial partnerships, a 71-run stand for the 3rd wicket between Heather Graham and Mikayla Hinkley, followed by another vital 85-run stand for the 4th wicket between Mathilda Carmichael and Heather Graham, not only placed them in a commanding position for a strong finish, but also took them closer to the 230-run mark.
Western Australia did finish strong, scoring at 9 runs an over in the last five overs to post a competitive total of 272/5 in their quota of 50 overs. Heather Graham (90 off 104 balls), Mikayla Hinkley (56 off 76 balls), and Mathilda Carmichael (37 off 36 balls) made the core contributions with the bat for Western Australia. Skipper Jess Jonassen (10-0-40-2) led from the front with the ball for her side. Lucy Hamilton (9-0-42-0), Charli Knott (10-0-54-1), and Nicola Hancock (6-0-36-1) played their part with the ball for Queensland Fire.
Chasing a challenging total of 273, Queensland lost both their openers early on in the run chase, pushing them on the back foot at 5/2 in the 2nd over of the chase. Sianna Ginger joined Charli Knott at the crease, and the duo led a decent recovery with a crucial 52-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Amy Edgar broke the stand, by sending Charli Knott (24 off 38 balls) back to the pavilion in the 13th over of the innings to provide the crucial 3rd breakthrough for Western Australia.
The Chloe Piparo-led side bounced back with a couple of quick strikes, including the wicket of their skipper Jess Jonassen (16 off 20 balls) and a well-set Sianna Ginger (44 off 54 balls) back to the pavilion, reducing them to 101/5 in the 21st over of the run chase. Lauren Winfield-Hill joined Annie O’Niel at the crease, and the pair revived Queensland’s hopes in the run chase with a much-needed 99-run partnership for the 6th wicket, which also took them to the 200-run mark.
Charis Bekker broke the stand, by sending Lauren Winfield-Hill (59 off 51 balls) back to the pavilion in the 36th over of the run chase to provide the crucial 6th breakthrough for Western Australia. Queensland collapsed further as they lost their next couple of wickets for just 35 runs. Nicola Hancock joined Annie O’Niel at the crease, and the onus was on O’Niel to guide her side over the line.
Courtesy of an impressive supporting hand from Nicola Hancock (11* off 21 balls), Annie O’Niel managed to steer her side over the line with an unbeaten half-century 86* (77 balls) via an unbeaten 42-run stand for the 9th wicket. Amy Edgar (10-0-40-3), Charis Bekker (10-0-51-1), Heather Graham (10-0-65-2), and Ebony Hoskin (8-0-42-1) were impressive with the ball for Western Australia. Annie O’Niel was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive match-winning knock of 86* (77 balls) with the bat for her side under pressure.
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