In an edge-of-the seat opener of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Women’s T20 Counties Super Cup, Tasmania edged past Yorkshire by the barest margins, 4 runs, in a match that saw plenty of ups and downs. Set a challenging target, Yorkshire fought bravely with the bat, but a handful of individual brilliant performances, they fell just short of the first innings total.
Yorkshire won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that paid quick dividends as they struck in quick intervals. In the very first over, Emma Manix-Geeves was removed for a duck, sending Tasmania into early trouble. The pressure continued to increment as in the third over, Rachel Trenaman was dismissed for just 9, leaving Tasmania stranded at 13-2.
However, Tasmania’s top-order resilience came to the fore through the efforts of opener Tabatha Saville, who anchored the innings with a brilliant knock of 76 runs from 56 balls- one which included 11 boundaries and 2 maximums. Middle order batter Naomi Stalenberg played a crucial role in supporting Saville, contributing a quick-fire 34 from just 20 balls.
The late charge from Ruth Johnston provided a quick-fire cameo at the end, which comprised of 3 fours, helping her team to post a total of 165/7 after the completion of 20 overs. From the bowling department, Beth Langston was the standout performer, claiming 3 wickets for just 22 runs in her 4-over spell, while Maddie Ward provided support from the other end with figures of 2-27.
Coming to the second innings, Yorkshire was sluggish to get a quick start as openers struggled to accelerate, eventually walking back to the pavilion by the end of the fifth over. Sophie Luff was dismissed for 4, while her partner, Emma Lamb, was sent back for 12, leaving Yorkshire at a treacherous score of 16-2.
Eric Thomas briefly stabilised the ship with a 14-ball 20, but it was the partnership between Sterre Kalis and Beth Langston that muscled the pursuit for the chase. The duo stitched a 63-run stand to make it an even-stevens encounter. Kalis fell just 1 run shy of her half-century, and was clean bowled by Ruth Johnston, who finished with impressive figures of 2/16 from three overs.
Tasmania’s 21-year-old Callie Wilson played a key role in the victory, taking 2 wickets for 24 runs, with the chasing team ending at 161/8.
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