In the 23rd match of Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) 2025-26, Tasmania Tigers faced Western Australia at the Ninja Stadium in Hobart. Tasmania skipper Elyse Villani had won the toss and chose to bat first.
The openers weren’t off to their best of starts as Ruth Johnston was dismissed for a 11-ball duck. Rachel Trenaman looked quite good in her innings of 37 off 40 balls as she struck three boundaries and a six. The middle-order failed to contribute as Elyse Villani (6) and Manix-Geeves (3) were dismissed for single digit scores.
Courtney Sippel had been their standout performer with the bat as she scored a fighting half-century and she was supported by some crucial contributions from Stalenberg, Silver-Holmes and Lauren Smith. After the dismissal of Silver-Holmes (27), Sippel (60 off 89) and Smith (27) formed a brilliant 51-run partnership that was crucial in the grand scheme of things as that innings powered the side to a respectable total on board.
Tasmania Tigers posted 221 runs from the 50 overs. With the ball, Heather Graham was absolutely top tier as she scalped 3 wickets and gave away just 23 runs from her 10 overs including a maiden. Ebony Hoskin also picked up 3 wickets but gave away a few runs and was well supported by the likes of Manolini (2/44) and Britcliffe (2/46).
In the 2nd innings, Western Australia were off to a sensational start as the openers Piparo and Darke formed a partnership of 167 from the 30 overs. After Chloe Piparo got dismissed for 73 off 91, Maddy Darke took matters into her own hands and anchored her side to victory, remaining unbeaten on 98 off 113 balls. They did lose a couple of wickets at the end due to the brilliance in bowling and some lazy shot-selection.
In a certain phase, they had lost 3 wickets for just 11 runs and that was something they could have avoided to ensure a smoother victory for the side. She was supported by Heather Graham as well and Western Australia had secured a win by just 5 wickets with more than 8 overs to go in the match.
Hayley Silver-Holmes had a magnificent spell with the bowl as she picked up 3 wickets from her 8 overs, giving away 41 runs as well. Ruth Johnston also bowled pretty well as she picked up 2 wickets from her 5 overs, while giving away just 20 runs. With this victory, Western Australian are now at the 4th place with 14 points, just one point behind Tasmania Tigers.
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