The 2021-22 season of Australia’s 50-over domestic competition, Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) got underway with the first four matches being played on December 17 and 19 before a halt following the holiday season.
The third match of the league played on December 19 between New South Wales and Victoria in Melbourne witnessed the weather causing complete chaos on the field. Trying to bring in the covers as soon as the clouds took over the sky, the groundsmen were facing difficulties with the high-speed wind blowing.
So, they looked for more assistance that they got from the players themselves. In a video shared by the Victorian Cricket Team, players from both teams can be seen trying their level best to prevent the covers from blowing away. The video also captured a hilarious moment of the Victorian captain Ellyse Perry lying down on the covers for the same reason.
The Victorian Cricket Team tweeted the video with the caption,
“Absolute MAYHEM at the CitiPower Centre as the Melbourne weather sets in
Well done to players and ground staff on getting this cover down! “
Absolute MAYHEM at the CitiPower Centre as the Melbourne weather sets in 💨
Well done to players and ground staff on getting this cover down! 🌧 #WNCL pic.twitter.com/e00U7hhQOp
— Victorian Cricket Team (@VicStateCricket) December 19, 2021
However, moments later, the weather was so clear that no one could have agreed that the weather caused the intervention.
Talking about the result, Ellyse Perry led Victorian team put the NSW Breakers into bat first and dominated in the early overs but not enough to stop Tahlia Wilson (54), Ashleigh Gardner (57), and Phoebe Litchfield (88) from making a 50+ score each, taking the total to 300 for 7 in 46 overs before the rain god showed their presence. Reduced to 35 overs, the Victorian women struggled to find the momentum except for the applaudable knock by Perry leading the team from the front, scoring 120 off just 94 balls (10 4s and 4 6s). For her appreciable performance with the bat as well as the ball taking a wicket giving away 10 runs in four overs, the star all-rounder was adjudged as the player of the match while the match was won comfortably by the most successful WNCL side, NSW-W.
The league now resumes on January 6 till the 14th, halting once again due to The Ashes. It then restarts from February 14 with the group stage ending on March 3 and the Finals taking place on March 6, a day after Australia plays their first match of the ICC Women’s World Cup.
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