NSW Women’s Premier Cricket: Thrillers and upsets, U18s Brewer Shield round two wrap

Gordon brushed aside the pain of an opening round loss to upset the reigning champions in round two of the NSW Women’s U18s Brewer Shield. See how all the action unfolded in our weekend wrap.

All smiles: Gordon after their impressive Brewer Shield victory over Greater Hunter Coast at Chatswood Oval on Sunday, October 20, 2024. Picture: Jason Hosken, News Corp (NewsLocal)

Low scores were the order of the day in the second round of the U18s women’s Brewer Shield.

Despite the lack of runs, there were several thrilling and surprising results.

Round two wrap.

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MASSIVE SCALP

After a narrow loss to Sydney, Gordon have struck back on home turf with a major upset victory over reigning premiers Great Hunter Coast.

Phoebe Johnston led the way with bat and ball in the 10-run victory. Opening the batting with Diya Sambrane (56 off 64 balls), Johnston contributed 29 in an opening stand of 73 as Gordon posted 2/116.

In pursuit of a seemingly below par total on a quick Chatswood outfield, Great Hunter got away to flyer as Molly Dare (37 off 31) and Evie O’Brien (36 off 47) charged to 49 in the ninth over.

Bowling her left-arm leg-spin, Johnston entered the attack and immediately struck when captain Victoria Marsh pouched a hot chance at cover to dismiss Dare.

From there the flow of runs dried up. Johnston consistently landed her well flighted deliveries on a good length in a spell that returned a match-winning 1/8 off four overs.

Amy Hill caught Felicity Wharton (8 off 24) short of her ground with a direct hit from mid-wicket. Then after a wicketless opening spell, Jorja Horan returned to the attack bowling full and fast to finish with 2-22 in a final score of 6/106.

Phoebe Johnston sweeps for Western during the McDonalds U16 Country Championships. Picture: Martin Ollman

“At the change of innings, we thought it wasn’t enough runs, but we said we’ll have to make sure it is enough and that’s exactly what the girls did,” said Gordon coach Quincy Titterton.

“Phoebe is playing really well at the moment. Her experience in second grade helped and she was able to tie them down in the middle overs.”

While Titterton would have liked more runs in the bank, the coach was delighted with the approach.

“The biggest thing for me was not losing wickets in clumps. We can work on capitalising on our starts, especially in the powerplay, but overall I’m very happy,” he said.

“The girls blamed themselves a bit for the round one loss, and they were hungry to improve this week.”

FINAL OVER THRILLER

Manly have managed to squeak past Parramatta after defending a modest 9/77 on home turf.

Both sides batted out their allotted 20 overs, with Manly holding on in a thrilling final over to secure a three-run victory.

Parra required eight off the final over to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, but it was Lily Crabbe’s day. First she bowled Maithri Karthikayan before closing out the contest with an over that went for just four runs.

On a difficult batting surface, Charlotte Croll (23 off 30) top scored for Manly in an innings that included three ducks. Left-armer Georgia Aldridge (2-10) and Sarah Bawcombe (2-16) took the new ball and finished with the pick of the figures for Parramatta.

In reply, Aishleen Gir (22 off 40) and Sharon Julien (23 off 38) put Parra on the road to victory with an opening stand of 42. Off-spinner Eve Burke did the damage for Manly taking 4-13 from four overs.

PENRITH OPEN ACCOUNT

Penrith are on the board after the Panthers won the battle of the west with a 42-run victory over Blacktown.

Opting to bat, Penrith scrambled to 4/62 in the 15th over before Lucy Mellis joined Japleen Kaur (36* off 35) to give the innings a much needed overhaul.

Mellis, a South West Country rep, didn’t mess about. In 21 deliveries, she smashed three fours and one six to finish 32 not out in a competitive score of 4/118.

Once again, Tanishka Reddy (19 off 35) and Athira Dilip Kumar (16 off 27) looked good at the top of the order for Blacktown. But the wickets continued to fall in an card that was dominated by Kahlan Mouwen’s 3-17 and Aleena Syed who took 2-4.

Lucy Mellis keeping wickets for Penrith last season. Photo: Warren Gannon Photography

UNI ON FIRE

Coming off an opening round loss to Bankstown, Sydney University returned home in style accounting for Northern District by nine wickets on the No.1 Oval.

After sending the Rangers into bat, skipper Nadia Carvalho (1-19) teamed with Hamnah Afzal (1-17) to slow the scoring as the visitors compiled a patient 4/97 from 20 overs.

Aarini Mazumdar was the glue at the top of the order, carrying her bat through the innings to remain 31 not out from 52 balls. Ameera Sodhi was next best with a brisk 23 off 20 balls.

Ella Wade (43* off 50) and Sienna Knight (34 off 44) made short work of the chase, blasting 11 boundaries in an opening stand of 88 inside 14 overs.

Sam Williams was among the runs for UTS North Sydney in round two. Supplied: UTS North Sydney

AROUND THE GROUNDS

St George-Sutherland and the Southern Swans are the only unbeaten teams after two rounds.

The Slayers made it back-to-back wins at Bankstown with a seven-wicket victory in reply to the home side’s 6/71. Ava Gaughan struck 24 for Bankstown, while Natasha Galeano (2-21) and Beth Millican (2-5) both finished with multiple wickets.

Taylor McMahon made the most of her early season form, doubling down on last weeks 40 with a dashing 47 not out from 41 balls.

It was a similar scorecard at Birchgrove Oval where the Swans chased down Sydney’s 71 for the loss of two wickets in the 15th over.

Swans bowlers Natalia Egan (2-11), Nicola Hudson (2-11) and Ebony Winston (2-3) set the scene with the ball. While in reply, openers Amelia Valdez and Georgia Lovegrove both top scored with 28.

In a shortened contest at Raby, UTS North Sydney downed Campbelltown Camden by seven wickets. Set a target of 69 in 15 overs, Sam Williams hit 26 off as many deliveries as the Bears rounded out their first victory with two overs to spare.