NSW Women’s Premier Cricket: U18s Brewer Shield, Rd 6 Team of the Week, 30+ gallery
Rescue missions were the order of the round in the U18s Brewer Shield. Check out who put their side back on the road to victory in our Round 6 Team of the Week, plus 30+ GALLERY.
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Not everyone selected in this week’s Brewer Shield Team of the Week finished on the winning side.
Sarah Bawcombe was an absolute standout in Parramatta’s narrow loss to Sydney, while Blacktown’s Athira Dilip Kumar continued to churn out the runs in her side’s loss to Bankstown. Round six Team of the Week.
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TEAM OF THE WEEK: ROUND SIX
1. Sarah Bawcombe (Parramatta)
A shining light in a losing side, Sarah clubbed eight boundaries in a game-high 50 from 42 deliveries and then choked Sydney’s reply, conceding just 10 runs from four overs.
2. Ava Gaughan (Bankstown)
In a must win contest, the Bankstown skipper stepped up with the willow, guiding her side to victory with an unbeaten 43 off 51 balls.
3. Athira Dilip Kumar (Blacktown)
A model of consistency at the top of the Blacktown order, Athira continued her strong start to the season with eight boundaries in a score of 43 from 58.
4. Zahra de Wit (Sydney)
With her side reeling at 3/7, Zahra picked up the pieces scoring a match-winning 38 to help sink Parramatta at Birchgrove Oval.
5. Ebony Winston (Southern Swans)
Won a spot in last week’s side with the ball, and returns again. Although, this time with the bat after rescuing the Swans from 3/27 with a super impressive 46 from 48 balls.
6. Marnie Flett (Sydney)
After taking 2/9, Marnie returned to the wicket with Sydney’s chase in tatters. Scored a valuable 32 not out and put on a crucial 74-run stand with Zahra de Wit.
7. Catherine Puiu (Sydney University)
As five wickets tumbled in the blink of an eye, Catherine not only put the pads on in record time she righted the Uni ship with a game-saving 31 not out. In a major highlight, the right-hander hoisted the pace of Prarthana Uppili over the mid-wicket rope.
8. Georgia Aldridge (Parramatta)
The ball must be coming out okay to knock over both openers for a golden duck, and that’s exactly what Georgia did on the way to an inspirational 3/14 from four overs.
9. Beth Millican (St George-Sutherland)
The rhythmic left-armer certainly found her groove against Northern District. In four overs, the medium pacer took 3/6 and bowled 18 dot balls.
10. Lily Crabbe (Manly)
After taking two wickets with her opening four deliveries, the Great Hunter innings was a complete train wreck. At 3-0, Lily had planted the seeds for a comfortable victory.
11. Hamnah Afzal (Sydney University)
It’s not often one piece of fielding is enough to make the team of the week. But we simply couldn’t ignore Hamnah’s outstanding right-hand pick up at mid-off to run out a surging Sam Williams. Among a host of twists and turns, it proved crucial in a remarkable Uni victory.
ROUND SIX WRAP
With another weekend of T20 contests, there was no shortage of twists and turns in round six of the under-18s Brewer Shield.
From stunning batting collapses to epic revivals and final over thrillers, there was enough to keep everyone on the edge of their seat. Full wrap from all seven venues.
DOUBLE REVIVAL
Sydney University simply refused to throw in the towel, orchestrating two remarkable comebacks before eventually downing UTS North Sydney by nine runs at Bon Andrews.
After being sent in, Uni captain Nadia Carvalho (10 off 18 balls) and Sienna Knight (13 off 16) took the score to 29 before Sam Williams (2/10, four overs) flipped the match on its head.
Tossed the ball after five overs, the Norths all-rounder immediately had Carvalho caught at point and with her next delivery accepted a looping return catch from the blade of Ella Wade.
In horror scenes, Uni coach Daniel Nader could barely watch as the wickets continued to tumble. Knight was run out in the same over, and the mix ups amplified when Saskia Gibson and Ruby Dickerson both trudged back to the pavilion after being run out in consecutive deliveries to start the 11th over.
In all, five wickets fell for the addition of 10 runs as Uni slumped to 5/39.
Enter Catherine Puiu (31* off 27). Batting at No.7, the right-hander added 47 with a patient Jaya Singh (11 off 34) before picking up the pace with Diksha Chowdhary (14* off 6) as Uni raced to what seemed an unlikely 6/101.
“We spoke before the game about not wanting to lose regular wickets so that we could remain aggressive throughout,” said Nader.
“But we also knew that we could back the tail. Catherine is one of our older players, so it was really nice to see her take charge. She was composed and also showed her power and pretty much executed our recovery plan to perfection.
“I thought 101 was probably a little low, but I had confidence in our bowling attack to create scoreboard pressure.”
And so it turned out, but the efforts of Carvalho (1/13, four overs) and fellow quick Ruby Carter (2/22, fours overs) were aided by a touch of magic from Hamnah Afzal.
Combining in a partnership of 56, Williams (25 off 38) and Norths skipper Varada Vinay (35 off 56) seemingly had the chase under control until Afzal’s one handed pick up and throw caught Williams short at the bowler’s end.
From there, the required rate continued to climb until the innings closed shy of the target on 6/92.
“The girls kept it tight in the field and that’s an area that has really improved this season, and we saw that with Hamnah’s effort when the game was still in the balance,” said Nader about his side who now share a three-three record with the fifth placed Greater Hunter.
“Being six games in and already recording more wins than last season is massive. It comes from having a stronger team and having more experience at Brewer level.
“North Sydney came off a great win over St George-Sutherland, so to win the derby will lift the team’s confidence, especially away from home on an unfamiliar pitch.”
PERFECT FIVE
With their fifth victory of the season, Gordon moved to fourth on the ladder after they defeated Penrith by five wickets with four overs to spare at Cook Park, St Marys
It was tough going from the outset for the home side. After being sent in, the Panthers found scoring difficult against a relentless new ball attack.
Ivy Platt (2/4, four overs) found a way through Yashika Ramprasad’s defence in the fifth over, and it was soon 4/32 when change bowlers Eleanor Wise-Mann (2/14, fours overs) and Jorja Horan (1/11, fours overs) continued to apply the pressure.
Manorath Gill finished with the top score in Penrith’s 8/75, and her 23 off 28 included three boundaries.
Far from rolling over, the Panthers rebounded with the ball to have Gordon teetering at 3/12. Grace Rowan (1/12, four overs) bowled Victoria Marsh with the first delivery of the innings and captain Teyana La Brooy (1/9, four overs) repeated the dose to knock over Amy Hill.
Sensing the contest slipping away, Horan once again showed her class under pressure. She only lasted 13 balls, but with two fours and as many sixes, the right-hander derailed Penrith’s charge with a punishing 24 runs.
Batting from the same book of intent, Audrey Kirk (27* off 26) proved the perfect foil and remained unbeaten as the Stags rounded out their fifth straight win.
BANKSTOWN CRUISE AFTER EARLY SCARE
Bankstown made batting look easy in a nine-wicket win over Blacktown.
Set a challenging target of 112, opener Ava Gaughan enjoyed a day out on home turf. The captain rattled off an unbeaten 43 off 51, and following an opening stand of 40 with Ruby Carlyon (19 off 23) she added another 72 with Bella Stevens (36* off 44) as Bankstown cruised to its third win of the season.
Despite the convincing victory, it was the visitors who set the early pace as Kuhu Nanda (26 off 41) and Athira Dilip Kumar (43 off 58) opened the contest with a stand of 72 inside the first seven overs.
With 140-plus on offer, the innings suddenly lost momentum after Lacey Metcalfe (2/19, fours overs) dismissed Nanda. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals until the innings closed on 7/111.
BACK ON THE HORSE
Coming off a surprise round five defeat, St George-Sutherland returned to the winners’ circle with a commanding nine-wicket win over Northern District.
After heading south to Kogarah Bay, ND’s posted 7/76 at Harold Fraser Reserve in an innings headlined by opener Eva House who posted 25 amid a constant fall of wickets.
In a continuation of her fine season with the ball, Beth Millican proved almost impossible to hit off the square. From four overs, the left-armer took an impressive 3/6.
In reply, Taylor McMahon (33* off 36) overcame a measured start before cruising through the gears as the Slayers reached the target in the 13th over.
TOP ORDER MELTDOWN
Manly bedded down second place on the table after they handed Greater Hunter back-to-back defeats with a six-wicket win at Manly Oval.
After struggling with the bat against the Southern Swans a week earlier, Great Hunter’s top order went into meltdown as all top four batters failed to trouble the scorers.
When Felicity Wharton was run out in the third over, it was 4/2 and the visitors were on track to make it back to Newcastle before lunch. Thankfully, Cosette Thomas (31 off 36) and Christine Fernance (21* off 48) weathered the storm and saw the side to a reasonable 6/69.
Aside from three run outs, Lily Crabbe (2/18, four overs) was Manly’s best with the ball while fellow opener Charlotte Allen bowled two maidens in her 1/3 from four tidy overs.
Manly were never really troubled in reply, losing four wickets before reaching the target with 19 balls to spare. Willa Pearson batted throughout to finish unbeaten on 21.
SYDNEY IN A THRILLER
In a nerve tingling finish at Birchgrove Oval, Sydney left it until the final over before hitting the winning runs to edge out Parramatta by five-wickets.
Needing seven runs from the final six deliveries to pass Parra’s 4/105, Hannah Rose (12* off 10) found herself in the hot seat against the spin of Sharon Julien (2/26, 3.3 overs).
With a boundary off the third legal delivery, Rose’s calmness saw Sydney draw level with six other teams, including Parramatta, on three wins.
Sarah Bawcombe was outstanding for Parra. Opening the batting, she top scored with 50 in a blazing 42-ball knock that included eight boundaries. Then with the new ball, she helped restrict the scoring with 0/10 from four overs after Georgia Aldridge (3-14, four overs) ripped out both openers for first-ball ducks.
In a test under pressure, Zahra de Wit (38 off 48) and Marnie Flett (32* off 45) passed with flying colours, hitting the bulk of the runs in an awkward chase.
FLYING HIGH
The unbeaten Southern Swans remain the team to chase after the Illawarra girls proved too strong for Campbelltown-Camden at Port Kembla.
After putting on a show with the ball last week, Ebony Winston showcased her all-round talent with the bat in round six. Her near run-a-ball 46 alongside Nicola Hudson’s 37 saw Southern reach 5/125, in an innings where Madison Eddie stood out for the Ghosts with 2/15 from four overs.
The Ghosts tried hard in reply but were unable to hit top gear in their 3/89. Aditi Shidore returned to the top of the order and top scored with 28 off 45, while Jessica Bramble hit a brisk 23 not out off 30 balls.
PHOTO GALLERY
Penrith v Gordon
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