A total of five teams, namely, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia, participated in the recently concluded edition of the National Indigenous Cricket Championship 2026, a 20-over competition from 14th to 19th April 2026.
Victoria, led by skipper Ella Hayward, was crowned as the champion of the tournament as they defeated New South Wales by 58 runs in the Finals Round 2 on 19th April 2026 at Harrup Park, Great Barrier Reef Arena, as the winners of Round 1 Finals battled for the crowning glory. New South Wales defeated Western Australia by 9 wickets in Finals Round 1 on 18th April at Harrup Park, chasing a target of 141. Queensland defeated South Australia by 41 runs at Cameron Oval in the first round of the finals on 18th April 2026, while defending the total of 148.
Victoria finished at the top of the points table with 7 points from 4 games, which included three victories and were the only unbeaten side in the recently concluded edition of the tournament. Western Australia finished 2nd with five points from as many games, which included a couple of victories and a solitary defeat in their campaign. New South Wales finished 3rd with 4 points, including a win and a loss. Queensland were the 4th-placed side with a solitary win (against New South Wales by 5 wickets on 18th April at Cameron Oval) and a couple of defeats.
South Australia had a horrible campaign as they finished at the bottom of the points table with a sole point coming from a washed-out clash. They were also the only side not to register a victory in their campaign in the recently concluded tournament. The round 2 fixtures were washed out due to rain on 15th April 2026 (Wednesday).
Victoria, led by skipper Ella Hayward, batted first against New South Wales in the final at the Great Barrier Reef Arena. The Victorian openers, Merinda Hale (28 off 31 balls) and skipper Ella Hayward (28 off 29 balls), got their side off to a solid start with a 62-run opening partnership. Cadence Waters removed both the openers in quick succession.
Annabelle Glossop (21 off 19 balls) and Emma Manix-Geeves (42* off 33 balls), coming in at number 3, lead the recovery with a much-needed 65-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, which also took them past the 100-run mark. Victoria eventually posted a challenging total of 157/3 in their quota of 20 overs. The lack of discipline from the New South Wales bowlers cost them heavily, such that the extras column (30 runs) ended as the 2nd highest contributor in Victoria’s batting effort after Emma Manix-Geeves.
Cadence Waters (4-0-27-2) and Madison Spence (4-0-33-1) were the only wicket-takers with the ball for New South Wales, while Zoe Fleming (4-0-30-0) was impressive in her spell with the ball for her side.
Chasing a target of 158, the New South Wales batters succumbed to the scoreboard pressure, which resulted in a top-order collapse. Being reduced to 22/3, Callee Black (29 off 25 balls) joined Taleha Urszulak (29 off 34 balls) at the crease, and the duo revived the hopes with a much-needed 50-run partnership for the 4th wicket. An unfortunate run-out of Callee Black ended a spirited stand. Cadence Waters (14 off 15 balls) provided vital support at the other end to Taleha Urszulak en route to their 22-run stand for the 6th wicket, which also took them closer to the 100-run mark, but they weren’t able to infuse momentum into the innings.
As a result, New South Wales were left with too much to do, towards the back end, eventually getting bundled out for 99, with 9 balls to spare, falling 58 runs short of the target, despite the 14 extras in the innings. Annabelle Glossop (4-0-18-3), skipper Ella Hayward (3.3-0-18-3), Jaide Anthony (3-0-9-2), and Tya Fry (3-0-18-1) were impressive with the ball for Victoria. Victoria sealed off an impressive unbeaten campaign by clinching the silverware.
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