NSW Women’s Premier Cricket: U18s Brewer Shield, Rd 14 Team of the Week
Some familiar faces continued to plunder runs, while several speedsters carried their teams to unlikely victories in the U18s Brewer Shield. Round 14 Team of the Week.
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The heavy hitters continued to dominate in round 14 of the U18s Brewer Shield, while several up and comers made their mark.
Competition leading run scorers Aditi Shidore and Athira Dilip Kumar fired once again. With the ball, Bankstown’s Leearna Harris sparked a collapse in her side’s victory.
Round 14 Team of the Week
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TEAM OF THE WEEK: ROUND 14
1. Athira Dilip Kumar (Blacktown)
Athira’s debut season just gets better and better. Dominated from the outset in the win over Northern District, hitting 16 boundaries in a score of 90 to move to second spot on the leading run scorers list.
2. Libby Burgess (St George-Sutherland)
After a run of starts, Libby tuned up for the finals with her second half century of the Brewer season. In pursuit of Uni’s 119, the dashing opener did the bulk of the work finishing unbeaten on 79 with nine fours.
3. Ruby Carlyon (Bankstown)
Another to score the bulk of her side’s runs, Ruby continued her recent red hot form scoring 68 in Bankstown’s narrow win over Gordon.
4. Aditi Shidore (Campbelltown Camden)
What’s a team of the week without Aditi Shidore? A rock at the top of the Ghosts’ order, the right-hander’s 66 was her sixth time past fifty this season. Not content, she backed it up with 3/32 in the thrilling win over Penrith.
5. Olivia Mitchell (Northern District)
The Kincumber recruit had a day out for ND’s. Blasted 51 off 59 and chipped in with 2/20 bowling her right-arm medium pace.
6. Ebony Davies (Manly Warringah)
A regular in Manly’s Peden Shield team, Ebony showed she’s more than ready for Brewer Shield. In just her second match of under-18s, the right-hander turned the match against Norths with a mature 56 not out from 115 balls.
7. Farrah Cody (Southern Swans)
Farrah couldn’t have done much more in the Swans’ narrow loss. The medium-pacer hit her targets with the ball despite going wicketless, then struck 38 from No.9 to move her side from certain defeat to within sight of victory.
8. Christine Fernance (Greater Hunter)
With a hat-trick and inches away from taking another, Christine was the first player selected this week. The confident quick took 5/16 and rattled the pegs on four occasions.
9. Beth Millican (St George-Sutherland)
Made a welcome return to the Slayers’ attack. In nine overs, the left-armer took two early wickets and finished with 3/24 to put her side on the road to victory against Sydney Uni.
10. Tara McCall (Sydney)
The big right-armer rarely lets Sydney down with the new ball. Picked up the first three Parra wicket to fall and finished with 3/15 from seven overs – her best in Brewers this season.
11. Leearna Harris (Bankstown)
The left-arm speedster came on as first change and rocked Gordon from the get-go, landing there crucial blows to finish with 3/19 from seven overs.
ROUND 14 WRAP
It was a weekend where several teams made a late charge to book their place in the U18s Brewer Shield finals.
In the penultimate round ahead of next months playoffs, for some sides it was boom or bust in the race to secure a spot in the top six.
Here’s how round 14 unfolded.
HAT-TRICK HERO ALMOST BAGS TWO
Christine Fernance is the talk of Newcastle after the Greater Hunter quick snared a hat-trick and nearly added another in her team’s thrilling 13-run win over the Southern Swans.
After knocking over Greater Hunter for 167 at Olds Park in Sydney’s south, the Swans looked to be on target when they reached 2/46 in reply.
From there, Fernance took to the middle order with a blowtorch, rattling the stumps in consecutive deliveries to end the 15th over, and returning to knock over Ella Yates with the first ball of the 17th.
In a magic day for the right-armer and state hockey rep, she then struck again in consecutive deliveries to leave the Swans teetering at 7/58.
In a lethal five-over spell, Fernance kept the reigning premiers’ title defence alive with an astonishing 5/5 that included three maidens.
In what turned out to be a cracking finish, the hat-trick hero's efforts almost amounted to nothing as Georgia Lovegrove (31 off 75 balls) and Farrah Cody (38 off 62) led a spirited revival, adding 88 for the eighth wicket.
The left-handed pair seemed destined to pull off a miracle until leg-spinner Charlotte Kelly (2/5) and Bronte Morgan (1/15) struck in unison to quickly wrap up the innings.
“I didn’t expect it to get so close at the end, it was pretty nerve wracking,” Fernance said of Greater Hunter’s third straight win that lifts them to fifth spot.
“It was my first ever hat-trick, I just got my line and length right and it turned out to be my day. I’ve actually been batting better recently, so it’s good to take some wickets.
“I just got the rhythm right, and the ball kept hitting the stumps. I have been working on running in faster to build more momentum through the crease.”
After finishing the day with 5/16 from eights overs and claiming the club’s first Brewer Shield hat-trick, the multi-talented all-rounder summed up a day that will be long remembered.
“I thought I might have got two hat-tricks,” she said. “That third ball after my fifth wicket hit the pads, it was very close, it could have gone either way.
“It was an unusual day. I’m still 14, so I can’t bowl more than five overs in a spell. So after that I ended up keeping wickets because our usual wicketkeeper, Mia Gentle, was away today.”
BANKSTOWN SOUND THE ALARM
Bankstown’s surge towards the finals may have come too late, but with a sensational two-wicket victory over ladder leaders Gordon, they continue to show the title race is as wide open as ever.
Needing another win and results to go their way, Bankstown dominated from the outset after Gordon opted to bat first at Grahame Thomas.
Leearna Harris (3/19, seven overs) struck early, and the left-arm quick found solid support from Lacey Metcalfe (3/6, 8.4 overs) as the visitors were bowled out for 108 inside 47 overs.
Still glowing after her big innings last week, Ruby Carlyon (68 off 100) was forced to dig deep once again as Bankstown continued to lose wickets in the chase. But with back-to-back fifties the wicketkeeper carried her side to victory and seventh on the ladder.
Although, with one round remaining, the sixth ranked Panthers are more than likely just out of reach.
MANLY WIN DERBY
With a 29-run victory over UTS North Sydney, Manly head to the final round sitting second on the ladder and perfectly placed for two bites of the finals cherry.
But it could easily have been a different story without the patience of Ebony Davies. The only batter from either side to master a challenging Graham Reserve wicket, the Peden Shield rep hit an unbeaten 56 from 115 balls.
Manly chose to bat, and at 5/31 would have been having second thoughts until Davies guided the side to a respectable 7/146.
Once again, Lana Sredojevic (2/21, 10 overs) was the pick of the Bears’ attack, but like Manly, Norths found the going just as tough with the bat.
They replied with 9/117 from their 50 overs. Matilda Brown strangled the chase, taking 2/4 from six overs that included three maidens.
GHOSTS LAND BIG SCALP
Campbelltown Camden proved they’re not too far off the pathways pace, recording their fifth win after downing finals bound Penrith by eight runs at Cook Park.
Once again state rep Aditi Shidore had all the answers for the Ghosts. Batting first, the competition leading run scorer hit a team-high 66 and alongside Trushna Hadawle (43 off 74) put on an opening stand of 111.
Chasing 8/161, Shidore shut down Penrith’s reply with 3/32 from 10 overs of leg-spin. Molly Small (2/6 from 5.5 overs) chimed in with a couple of wickets as Penrith fell in the final over for 153, Manorath Gill top scored with 53 from 97.
SLAYERS BOUNCE BACK
St George Sutherland bounced back to form against Sydney University and moved to outright third following a thumping eight wicket victory.
Beth Millican returned for the Slayers and made an immediate impact with the ball. After Anika Shah (2/17, eight overs) made the initial breakthrough, Millican (3/24, nine overs) struck three times in Uni’s 119.
Sienna Knight struck a run-a-ball 33 for the Students, while opening bowler Ruby Carter added 25 in the lower order.
Libby Burgess made short work of the chase. The left-hander returned to her pre-Christmas form, blasting nine boundaries to finish 79 not out from 134 balls as the Slayers notched their 10th win with 13 overs to spare.
FINALS HOPES DASHED
Parramatta’s finals hopes appear to be over after they fell to Sydney by 28 runs in a low scoring match at North Parramatta.
After Heidi Nicholls (3/24, eight overs) starred with the ball, Parra needed to chase down 134 to remain in the race for sixth spot.
However, Sydney opening bowler Tara McCall had other ideas. She removed the top three with only 16 on the board and finished the day with 3/15 from seven overs.
Rising run-machine Kaya Kumar (52 off 94) threatened to carry the home side across the line, but the runs dried up when she was the eighth to fall with the score on 100.
In the final game, Blacktown raced to their second win of the season after they overpowered Northern District by 82 runs at Storey Park.
Blacktown opener Athira Dilip Kumar top scored with 90 in her side’s 5/208 – taking her Brewer tally to 487 runs at 44.3. Olivia Mitchell took 2/20 from seven overs for ND’s and capped off a fine day, hitting a top score of 51 off 59.
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