Adelaide Strikers leggie Amanda-Jade Wellington stars for Port Adelaide's men’s D grade after women’s team forfeits – again

AUSTRALIAN cricketer Amanda-Jade Wellington has starred in men’s ranks after Port Adelaide’s A-grade women’s team forfeited for the fourth time this season.

AUSTRALIAN cricketer Amanda-Jade Wellington has starred in SACA men’s ranks after Port Adelaide’s women’s team forfeited for the fourth time this season.

The Magpies did not have the minimum of nine players needed to take to the field for Sunday’s home A-grade game against Northern Districts, so the Jets were awarded a victory.

The forfeit prompted Port men’s coach Matthew Weeks to offer Wellington, a leg-spinner with experience in one Test, 12 One-Day Internationals and eight Twenty20 Internationals, a spot in the club’s D grade on Saturday.

In her first senior men’s game for the club, Wellington took 1/29 from eight overs before batting sixth and topscoring with 41 to steer the team to a three-wicket home win over Prospect.

Amanda-Jade Wellington, who made her senior men’s debut for Port Adelaide on Saturday and topscored with 41, pictured bowling for Adelaide Strikers in the Women's Big Bash League in December. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Weeks said the 21-year-old Adelaide Strikers and SA Scorpions star had really impressed him and she would be in the men’s selection mix, including for higher grades, if the women’s side forfeited any of its three remaining matches this season.

“She’s a fantastic character and she’s really competitive,” Weeks said.

“She was happy to play (on Saturday) and she played really, really well.

“Obviously the women are her number one priority but when she’s available, I’m more than happy to play her.

“I’d be more than happy to see her (play in a higher men’s grade) and see how far she can take her cricket.

“You judge people in life and cricket on their ability and the way they go about things, not their gender.”

Port’s women, sitting bottom of the ladder with a 0-7 record, also forfeited against Southern District the previous round and its clashes with Kensington and Sturt in October.

Amanda-Jade Wellington celebrates taking a wicket in her Test debut against England in 2017. Picture: Mark Evans

Magpies chairman Maurie Vast said the club was unlikely to have enough players available to field a women’s team for its country game against Kensington in Ashbourne this Saturday and would have to “work our butts off” to get a side together for the other two matches.

Vast has blamed the club’s struggles to field a team on the SACA push for it to merge with West Torrens two summers ago.

He said the club had strong women’s numbers in 2016/17 when it lost the A-grade grand final but players left after that season because of the uncertainty surrounding Port’s future.

The Magpies staved off the merger and finished bottom last season with a 1-8-1 record.

“It started with that (merger) process and ever since then we’ve struggled to recruit and attract players to the club,” Vast said last week.

“They voted with their feet and a year after 10 of our A-grade players left and at the end of that year 10 B-grade players left.

“We went from playing in a grand final to struggling to field an A-grade team in one year.

“We rely as a team on a lot of fill-in players.”

Century-makers Tabitha Saville, Samantha Betts, Tegan McPharlin and Darcie Brown in front of Northern Districts’ Australian record 50-over score, 3/596, made against Port Adelaide in October. Picture: Supplied

Vast this week said the lack of numbers was a concern but “we can’t do much about it, unfortunately”.

“We don’t want to do it (forfeit) but the numbers aren’t there,” he said.

“Players don’t just fall off trees and you can’t just pick one off a tree and pop them in.”

Port’s women’s team made headlines in October when it conceded the highest score in an Australian 50-over game – 3/596 against Northern Districts – and was all out for 25 in reply.

The Magpies were dismissed for 47 in their only other one-day matches this season – a 368-run loss to Southern District and a 239-run defeat to West Torrens.

Last week a SACA spokeswoman said the organisation was having ongoing conversations with Port since it first indicated there were issues with female player numbers.

“SACA will continue to work with Port Adelaide to support them through the process of maintaining a sustainable women’s program,” the spokeswoman said.

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