Under-16 VicSpirit State Championships begin

With the temperature exceeding 40 degrees, matches in the first round of the VicSpirit U16 State Championship were reduced to 15 overs for each side.

In Group A, Gippsland Pride and South East Country faced each other in the opening round. Pride could only muster 5-60 from their allotted overs with Madeline May and Chelsea Ryan the only two to reach double figures making 21 and 19 respectively. Samantha Ryan, Dayna Smith and Caitlyn Ward all bowled economically as they each picked up a wicket with the remaining two coming through run outs. South East Country knocked off the runs in 10.5 overs to secure a nine-wicket victory, after Courtney Aughtie was run out for seven by Zoe Quinsey-Munroe with the score on 11. Skipper Ryan and wicketkeeper Smith finished unbeaten on 28 and 19 respectively.

Group B saw Central Highlands defeat Barwon by nine wickets. Central Highlands used eight bowlers and it was their last three who proved particularly economical and fruitful as they claimed six wickets for just 19 runs between them. Jessica Dugdale-Walker was the pick of the bowlers as she finished with 3-8 from her three overs, while Brianna Woodburn claimed 2-7. Central Highlands opened with Choney Meemusour and Dugdale-Walker who shared a 58-run partnership before Gemma Creighton bowled Meemusour for 26. Dugdale-Walker (25) and Tahleah Ticehurst (nine) ensured the Central Highlands began the tournament with a win as they finished on 1-72 in just 10.3 overs.

The second match in Group B was between Gippsland Lightning and Metropolitan West with the Lightning securing a 30-run win. Metro West won the toss and opted to insert the Lightning and with the first wicket falling with the score on nought – Samantha Hawkes was bowled by Madalyn Smith – it looked like it was a good decision. Opener Keira Morley and Megen Wrigglesworth shared a 61-run partnership Erin Keenan bowled Wrigglesworth for a well-made 30. Morley continued to bat well and top score with an unbeaten 39 as Gippsland Lightning posted 2-86 form their 15 overs. Metro West were on the back foot fairly early on as Mia Jackson was caught by Jessica Sanders off Lauren Synnott for nine with the score on 21 and fellow opener Katrina Burgoine retired hurt on five. Metro’s captain, Taylah Steadman, top-scored with 20 but was caught by Wrigglesworth off Jessica Sanders with the score on 54 and defeat looking imminent. Just two further runs were added before the end of their innings which saw them defeated by 30 runs.

Group C saw Western Waves take on Mallee Murray at Basil Reserve with Alyssa Humphries scoring more than half of the Waves’ runs as she retired on 53 as they posted 1-99. In reply, Mallee Murray knocked off the runs in just 12 overs for the loss of two wickets with S McKinnon top scoring with 51 retired.

The second fixture in Group C saw Metropolitan Inner South East take on Metropolitan Outer East. Inner South East batted first and after losing Diya Redhu early for two, Isabella Weber and Madeline Stirling shared a 35-run partnership before Weber was bowled by Caitlyn Parker for 21. Another good partnership was then formed by Stirling and Bella Gietzmann who put on 47 runs before Gietzmann was run out for 18. Stirling finished unbeaten on an impressive 49 off 39 balls, an innings which included eight fours. Inner South East set Outer East a target of 100 from their 15 overs. Annecy Homberg took the first wicket for Inner South East as she had Parker caught Erika Quinn for nought with the score on one. Homberg picked up the second after just eight further runs had been added and then took a third with the score still on nine. Inner South East took another wicket this time through tight fielding as Gietzmann ran out Serenity Connolly for five with the score on 15. Isabelle Robinson then took the attack to the bowlers as she struck six fours in her innings of 37 and was the ninth wicket to fall. Emma Beer and Robinson shared a 49-run partnership and ensured the game remained competitive. After Beer was stumped by Stirling off Quinn for 16 a second collapse ensued as Outer East mustered only 75 runs all out from their 15 overs which resulted in a 24-run win for Metropolitan Inner South East. Weber was the pick of the bowlers as her one over was a triple-wicket maiden. Homberg and Gietzmann also bowled well picked up 3-5 and 2-6 respectively.

In Group D, Northern Rivers played North East Country and batted first after winning the toss. Teagan Brett and Mardi Petherick shared a good first wicket stand of 60 before Brett was caught Maddison Baird off Keely Tua for 30. Northern Rivers went on to post 1-76 from their 15 overs with Petherick unbeaten on 28. After an opening partnership of 22, Mackenzie Nally got the breakthrough as Paris Crelley was caught and bowled for 11. The second-wicket partnership was dominated by Lily Tassell who made 13 before falling victim to Nally who had her caught by Brett with the score on 38. Kate Douglass took Northern Rivers’ third wicket as Tahlia Simpson was caught by Meg Thompson for five. A strong fourth-wicket stand of 27 ensued before Brett got the breakthrough dismissing both Amelia Reilly and Emily Lattanzio as North East Country lost by just four runs finishing on 5-72.

The other match in Group D was between Metropolitan South East Bayside and Metropolitan Inner East. South East Bayside won the toss and elected to bat and despite losing the early wicket of Olivia Downes who was bowled for nought by Alannah Dahlsen they posted an impressive 1-110. Alana D’Aquino top scored with 43 retired not out while opener Clementine Ryan-Fuller made 38 and number four Emma Medland finished unbeaten on 16. In reply Metropolitan Inner East posted 5-54 with Stephanie Paolucci and Ellora Kelly the two batters to reach double figures, 14 not out and 14 respectively. Downes finished her two overs with two wickets for four while Medland and Alex Clancy picked up one apiece to secure an emphatic 56-run win over Metropolitan Inner East.