NSW Women’s Premier Cricket: U18s Brewer Shield, Round 5 Team of the Week
An immovable force remains at the top, but there’s a host of new names showing they have what it takes to challenge the best in the Brewer Shield. Round 5 Team of the Week.
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Once again several regulars continue to bang on the Team of the Week selection door. A mainstay in the top XI, Gordon’s Diya Sambrane blasted another half century.
Big names aside, there’s a host of fresh faces who have forced their way into this week’s top side. Round five Team of the Week.
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TEAM OF THE WEEK: ROUND FIVE
1. Janani Vijaya Raghavan (UTS North Sydney)
She only scored 27, but on a difficult Tunks Park wicket Janani’s innings more than doubled the next best and carried North Sydney to a narrow victory over the previously unbeaten St George-Sutherland.
2. Diya Sambrane (Gordon)
We’re running out of superlatives to describe the remarkably consistent Gordon opener. In full bloom at Beauchamp Oval, Diya raced to her fourth consecutive half century with nine boundaries in a commanding innings of 55 from 45 balls.
3. Emma Rippon (Penrith)
Set a target of 95, the composed Penrith opener dashed the Ghosts’ hopes from the get-go. In an unbeaten 45 off 50, she found the Raby rope on eight occasions.
4. Audrey Kirk (Gordon)
At her belligerent best, Audrey propelled Gordon to a winning score with her dashing 41 not out from 45 deliveries. Back it up with four overs of leg spin, taking a valuable 1/24.
5. Eve Burke (Manly)
Batting at the top of the order, the all-rounder kicked off a memorable day with an innings of 34. With her confidence up, the off-spinner kept Uni at bay conceding 12 from four tight overs.
6. Willa Pearson (Manly)
The Manly keeper delivered another gold star performance. Saw off the new ball with a dashing 26, while behind the stumps she contributed to three run outs.
7. Nadia Carvalho (Sydney University)
Uni didn’t get the chocolates, but skipper Nadia Carvalho was among the best on ground. Her 20 off 33 was her side’s top score, and she opened the bowling before finishing with 2/16 from her allotted four overs.
8. Lana Sredojevic (UTS North Sydney)
With only 70 runs to defend, Norths needed something special with the ball. And they couldn’t have asked Lana for any more than the 3/16 she returned from four overs.
9. Samantha Williams (UTS North Sydney)
Alongside Sredojevic, Samantha also picked up three wickets and added a run out to cap off memorable North Sydney victory at Tunks Parks.
10. Ebony Winston (Southern Swans)
With the most destructive spell of bowling in round five, Ebony’s selection is a no-brainer. In four mesmerising overs, the medium pacer dismantled the best of Greater Hunter with 4/8.
11. Saskia Gibson (Sydney University)
Tough to score off let alone keep out, Saskia had Manly batting on eggshells with 3/6 from four outstanding overs.
ROUND FIVE WRAP
Despite switching back to the T20 format, runs were hard to come by in round five of the under-18s Brewer Shield.
On the ladder, the Southern Swans moved to outright leader after the Illawarra girls picked up another victory to remain the only unbeaten side in the competition.
Round five wrap.
SWANS CLAIM BRAGGING RIGHTS
Regional giants Greater Hunter Coast and the Southern Swans met in neutral territory, and after an early start at Bexley it was the Illawarra girls who claimed bragging rights with a six-wicket victory over the reigning premiers.
At first glance the southern suburb of Sydney seemed an odd venue, but with the WBBL Sydney Smash scheduled at the SCG in the afternoon both sides were perfectly placed for a quick transfer.
On the pitch, Ebony Winston cracked open the contest for the Swans and quickly put Greater Hunter on course for its second defeat of the season.
Given the ball in the fifth over, the right-armer picked up the prized scalps of Bronte Morgan and captain Felicity Wharton in her first over.
She then bowled Cosette Thomas and finished a breathtaking spell of 4/8 when she had Mia Gentle caught from the final ball of her fourth over.
At 4/36, Evie O’Brien (30 not out off 48 balls) stemmed the flow of wickets and helped guide her side to 7/67 from 20 overs.
In the end, the Swans reached the target with four overs to spare but it wasn’t without a hiccup. Morgan (1/7, 3 overs) and Wharton (1/11, 4 overs) both struck early before Nicola Hudson (20 off 35) and Ella Yates (21* off 20) took Southern to a position of safety with a third-wicket stand of 42.
“It’s always good to play Newcastle, but especially to beat them,” said Swans coach Aaron Hudson.
“They’ve had the wood on us for a couple of years, but it’s always good fun. Five from five is a great start for us, the belief in the team is great, and it’s growing each week.”
Despite several economical spells across the opening rounds, until Sunday, Winston had struggled for regular wickets.
“Ebony has probably been our most consistent bowler over the last few weeks. Last week she was a bit off and down on herself, but she came back roaring today,” said Hudson.
“It’s always good to get a start and it’s good that each girl knows their role, and they go out and execute it.
“It’s small steps, but we’d like to be able to emulate what Great Hunter have done. The club is in its second year as the Swans and we’ve got a good core of girls that have played a lot of cricket together now.
“It’s about building for the future. We’d like to be able to field a second grade side down the track, there’s plenty of girls who play Premier Cricket from the Illawarra area, so hopefully we can entice some of them back.
BEARS BOUNCE BACK
UTS North Sydney caused the boilover of the round after the Bears defended a seemingly below par 6/70 to send St George-Sutherland crashing to its first loss of the season.
On a challenging Tunks Park pitch, after choosing to bat the home side appeared headed for a fourth defeat as the Slayers applied the blowtorch with a typically relentless display of bowling.
Sophie Weaver (1/2, 2 overs) took the new ball and removed the dangerous Sam Williams without scoring in an innings where opener Janani Vijaya Raghavan (27 off 43) showed her class, striking six of North Sydney’s eight boundaries.
Once again Beth Millican (2/10, 4 overs) kept the scoring in check, and the left-arm medium pacer finished as the pick of the St George-Sutherland bowlers.
If Norths were to be any chance of pulling off a miracle, they needed the early scalp of Taylor McMahon (5 off 9). And that’s exactly what happened Kashish Sharma (1 for 7, 3 overs) had the Slayers’ kingpin caught by Varada Vinay with the score on seven.
From there the pressure continued to mount. Lana Sredojevic (3/16, 4 overs) joined forces with Williams (3/15, 3.3 overs) and duo removed another six, while three more fell to run outs.
MANLY STRIKE LATE
It was a similar low scoring affair at St Andrews Oval where Manly held on to defeat Sydney University by 10 runs after posting a modest 7/91.
In sensational scenes just a week after Matilda Brown’s extraordinary hat-trick for Manly, Annabel Kyme was tasked with delivering the final over with Uni requiring 13 for victory.
After bowling a dot ball, Kyme (2/3, 2 overs) castled Diksha Chowdhary, which was followed by a run out and then another cleaned bowled as Manly surged to victory on the back of a team hat-trick.
For Uni, it was the one that got away. They finished on 7/81 in a card that included four run outs, including captain and top scorer Nadia Carvalho for 20 off 33 deliveries.
While the game finished in a flurry of wickets, it was the polar opposite to how the day started.
After winning the toss, Manly chose to bat and got away to a flyer thanks to Willa Pearson (26 off 23) and Eve Burke (34 off 42) who put on 49 in seven overs for the first wicket.
Saskia Gibson took three 3/6 for the students and found solid support from Carvalho (2/16, 4 overs) and Hamnah Afzal (2/8, 2 overs).
GORDON WIN RUN-FEST
The runs flowed at Beauchamp Oval where Gordon moved to fourth spot on the table with a 23-run victory over Blacktown after posting a round-high total of 3/146.
Once again Diya Sambrane filled her boots. Coming off three consecutive Brewer half centuries, the Gordon opener nailed another, striking nine boundaries in a 45-ball knock of 55.
Audrey Kirk wasn’t far off the pace, blasting 41 from 45 before she joined four others to take one wicket in Blacktown’s 5/123.
Blacktown were courageous with the bat. Tanishka Reddy (33 off 34) led the way again with a classy innings at the top, and alongside Athira Dilip Kumar (36 off 38) they added 51 for the second wicket.
PARRA GO BACK-TO-BACK
Parramatta capped off consecutive wins with a five-wicket victory over Bankstown at Old Kings Oval.
The visitors scrambled to 5/78 with opener Ruby Carlyon (26 off 51) batting for all but the final three overs of the innings.
Natalie Williams (2/6, 3 overs) was a standout for Parra, and the leggie was joined by Adhithi Chandrasekar (1/3, 3 overs) in stifling Bankstown’s charge with the bat.
Returning from injury, Sharon Julien (23 off 39) top scored as Parramatta reached the target in the second last over with a total that was boosted by 19 valuable extras.
PANTHER POWER
Emma Rippon and Japleen Kaur hammered the Ghosts attack as Penrith marched to a comfortable nine-wicket win at Raby.
Set a victory target of 95, Rippon was at her destructive best from the outset. The opener crunched eight boundaries in 50 balls to finish unbeaten on 45, while Kaur continued her good form, launching two maximums in an innings of 36 not out from 27 balls.
Earlier on, Jessica Bramble top scored with 33 in Campbelltown Camden’s 6/94, while Grace Rowan (2/19, 4 overs) and skipper Teyana La Brooy (2/13, 4 overs) helped set up Penrith’s third win from five starts.
SYDNEY TOO STRONG
After restricting Northern District to 9/58 at Asquith, Sydney registered its second win of the season when they reached the target inside 13 overs for the loss of three wickets.
Olivia Pelly (2/5, 3 overs) and Sophie Busch (2/13, 3 overs) were the chief destroyers with the ball before Mia Grace Elliott top scored in the chase with 28 not out off 30 balls.
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