Victoria claims the Betty Butcher Shield

It was a fantastic Championships from start to finish for the U18 squad as they reached the Final unbeaten and despite a slow but steady start posted a competitive total of 3-183 which they defended with ease.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Victoria opened with Makinley Blows and wicketkeeper Annabel Martin who shared a 69-run partnership.

The pair fell within eight runs of each other which left skipper Sophie Molineux and her Renegades WBBL teammate Georgia Wareham at the crease.

Victoria’s run rate immediately increased as Molineux and Wareham ran well between the wickets with the pair putting on 93 runs for the third wicket.

Molineux continued to lead from the front as she made her third half-century of the tournament. On this occasion scoring 59 in an innings which included six fours before she was bowled with the score on 170.

Wareham saw out the 50 overs in the same measured manner as she began her knock to finish unbeaten on 40 alongside Hope Irvine who made three not out.

Victoria bowled tightly from the start as Hayleigh Brennan opened the attack with two maidens.

The early breakthrough came in the fourth over as Tayla Vlaeminck had Clara Lemma caught behind by Annabel Martin for six with NSW on 10.

Wareham continued her successful Championships as she bowled Ashley Day for seven which put NSW in trouble at 2-25 after 13 overs. 

The successful Renegades’ pairing of Wareham and Molineux then came into fruition with the ball.

Wareham picked up her second as Amy Edgar was caught by Molineux for 18 with the score on 42.

A second Renegades pairing, this time it was Blows, not the skipper, who found herself taking a catch off Wareham to claim another Victorian wicket.

On this occasion, it was Carly Leeson departed for eight as NSW found themselves stuttering on 4-50 after 21 overs.

With scoreboard pressure building and runs coming few and far between NSW lost their fifth wicket.

Rhiann O’Donnell dismissed Hannah Trethewy with a direct hit run out for just three with the score on 67.

Vlaeminck then claimed her second of the match to finish with figures of 2-21.

She bowled Mikayla Hinkley for 20 after NSW had added just two runs and from this point a resurgence in their batting looked unlikely but still their were four wickets to take or just over 20 overs to bowl before Victoria could claim the title.

Brennan, who had bowled an economical opening spell, took Victoria’s seventh wicket as she had Saskia Horley caught and bowled for 11 with the score on 87.

Serena Liu was next to fall as she was trapped lbw by Madeline Wright as NSW found themselves eight down for 92, only halfway to their target.

O’Donnell claimed the final two NSW wickets.

Yardley Polsen, who top scored with 23, and Danielle Armstrong who made five as New South Wales were dismissed for 124 after 39.3 overs, resulting in a 59-run win for Victoria.

Wareham was the pick of the bowlers in this match as she finished with 3-31 from her eight overs, a feat which when combined with her 40 not out was no doubt a performance worthy of the first Player of the Final accolade.

She was also the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, claiming an impressive 16 runs at an average of just 8.70 and performed well with the bat averaging 34.20 with a top score of 56.

Molineux was named leading run-scorer and Player of the Series after scoring an impressive 375 runs at 62.50 with a high score of 89.

She also bowled very economically and claimed four wickets at an average of 14.50 across the tournament.

Congratulations to the Victorian squad who played outstandingly well throughout the tournament and should all be very proud of their achievements as the Betty Butcher Shield returns to Victoria for the first time in 16 years.

Well done to their coach, Duncan Harrison, who has also put in a lot of hard work which has enabled Victoria to produce such a successful team.