Under-16 Female National Cricket Championships: NSW Metro go down in dramatic grand final
It all went down to the wire as NSW Metro was involved in one of the most thrilling grand finals in carnival history at the under-16 National Championships in Hobart.
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NSW Metro has fallen agonisingly close to taking the under-16 National Cricket Championships and in the process completing a NSW clean sweep of the junior representative summer after a heartbreaking one-wicket loss to Victoria Metro in Hobart.
In a seesawing clash in which the momentum swung multiple times, the Victorian side went past NSW Metro’s total of 170 with just one wicket in hand.
While showing plenty of skill and resilience to fight their way back into the contest, the NSW side was ultimately made to pay for an almighty middle-order batting collapse that restricted the side to a modest total.
For the victors, all-rounder Ira Aery was a standout, taking three wickets with the ball and hitting an unbeaten half-century with the bat to guide her side home and take out the title.
After being sent in to bat with plenty of cloud cover overhead, NSW Metro made a steady start as openers Emily Powell and Aanya Siingh saw off the new ball.
After being given a life in the sixth over, dropped by wicketkeeper Mikayla Collins, Powell was looking good until she slashed at a wide one and chopped on for 19 to leave the side 1-36 in the ninth over.
Then in what was almost a carbon copy, Powell’s opening partner Siingh did the same four overs later, chopping on to also be dismissed for 19.
As it has so often done throughout the tournament, the wicket brought about a batting collapse, with Lucia Martin (three), Hannah Moss (one), Mayher Singh (two) and Gunisha Garg (zero) all dismissed within a damaging four-over spell as Victorian bowler Tanya Arul ripped through the batting line-up to leave NSW Metro in serious trouble at 6-56 after 20 overs.
Jessica Robertson came in and looked good as she hit a couple of quick boundaries. However when she was bowled by a brilliant inswinger from Ira Aery for 10, the NSW side was reeling at 7-69.
With 27 overs still to go in the innings, Neha Joshua and Aurora Mavros went about salvaging something from the situation.
Joshua in particular looked good as the pair moved the team into triple figures.
They put on a crucial 42 before Joshua was bowled by a brilliant leg-spinning delivery from Hilary Roach for 26, with the team on 8-111.
With plenty of time on their side, Mavros and Lakshmi Rajadurai were patient in adding to the total.
Gradually they increased the run rate and moved the total beyond 150 before Rajadurai edged one behind to be dismissed for a crucial 13 from 45 balls.
With just three overs remaining, Mavros opened the shoulders to hit a couple of late boundaries as NSW Metro was bowled out on the final ball for 170.
While the Victorian side would have been pleased with its efforts, NSW Metro did well to rescue the innings and give itself something to bowl at, considering the team was reeling at 7-69 and managed to put on 101 for the final three wickets.
Mavros was excellent in batting with the tail and top scored with 41 not out.
Tanya Arul and Ira Aery were both outstanding for the bowling, finishing with figures of 4-32 and 3-44, respectively.
NSW Metro finished with a bit of momentum and carried that into the field, with a horrific mix-up between Victorian batters Mia Gordon and Pearl Kapoor seeing both stranded up at the same end, with Kapoor run out for one in the first over.
The wicket didn’t affect Vic Metro too much, with Gordon and Noura Abdul Qader scoring freely at around five runs an over in the early stages.
The Victorian side was on a roll until wicketkeeper Jessica Robertson took a sharp catch up at the stumps to dismiss Gordon, who edged one behind to the bowling of Rajadurai.
Metro was suddenly on a roll after batter Lily Parker chopped on in the very next over reduce the Victorians to 3-48 after 10.
However in a game where the momentum swung multiple times, Qader teamed up with bowling hero Aery to put Vic Metro on top once again.
The pair played well to push the score beyond 100 as they chewed into the total.
With both players set and looking good, Metro needed a breakthrough, and NSW’s batting star Mavros delivered once again, forcing a nick from Qader to be caught behind for 38.
Metro then went bang, bang, with Rajadurai dismissing Rituja Talekar, who was yet again caught well by wicketkeeper Robertson for a duck to leave the Victorian side at 5-106.
Robertson just couldn’t stay out of the action, and her brilliant glovework behind the stumps continued shortly after when she took a sharp catch to dismiss Collins for four.
With Aery looking assured at the crease, Vic Metro moved to within just 31 of victory before Hannah Moss trapped Inakshi Sehgal on the pads for 13, with the team on 7-140.
In a seesawing clash, the Blues edged ahead when Mavros struck again with another wicket to leave the match delicately placed: NSW Metro needed two wickets and Vic Metro 25 runs.
The Victorians kept chipping away at the total, with teammates and fans cheering on every run.
With just five to win, Zoe Rowley skied one off the bowling of Gunisha Garg to be dismissed for 10 and give NSW Metro one last chance.
The game was on a knife’s edge, but two balls later Aery put the game to bed by slogging the ball over midwicket for four to simultaneously bring up her half-century and go past NSW Metro’s total.
It capped off a wonderful player-of-the-match for the Victorian star, who added an unbeaten 52 to her excellent three wickets with the ball.
It was also a fitting way to lose out the tournament, with the two previously undefeated sides pushing the game down to the wire in an absolute classic.
NSW Metro 10-170 (Mavros 41*, Joshua 26; Arul 4-32, Aery 3-44) lost to Victoria Metro 9-171 (Aery 52*, Qader 38; Moss 2-22, Mavros 2-27) by one wicket
RESULTS AND DRAW: CLICK HERE
RELATED CONTENT: 26 RISING STARS REPRESENTING NSW METRO/COUNTRY
ROUND SEVEN WRAP
It was all systems go as both NSW sides headed into the final round of competition needing a victory to keep their grand final hopes alive at the under-16 National Championships in Hobart.Once again Metro had its injury battles. Following the earlier departure of Skye Halmarick, news filtered through that Parramatta wicketkeeper Aarna Patel had been ruled out for the remainder of the competition via concussion protocols. In her place, Manly leg-spinner Kaya Punter headed south, arriving in time to lace on the boots for the must-win clash with Western Australia.For Country, their dreams of a grand final place hinged on a victory over the ACT and favourable results elsewhere.Final round wrap.
METRO TITLE DEFENCE ON TRACK
Before the squad boarded the plane to head south, Gunisha Garg was identified as a possible tournament surprise packet.
Now, after making a mess of Western Australia’s top order, the cat is out of the bag.
Needing a win at New Town Oval to guarantee a place in Thursday’s grand final, Garg landed the ball on a perfect line and length from the outset.
Lakshmi Rajadurai (2-25) struck the first blow, but it was Garg’s relentless inswing and movement off the seam that saw WA crumble, eventually bowled out for 110 before Metro cruised past the target for the loss of one wicket.
In an eight over masterclass, Garg delivered three maidens and finished with the match defining figures of 4-6.
The writing was on the wall in seventh over when an off balance Asvitha Kalaivanan spooned a hooping ball to Lucia Martin at mid-wicket.
Following an initial four over spell, the Penrith medium pacer returned to the attack with WA on the rebound at 4-78.
Her first delivery zipped off the seam and straight through the gate of Jessica Shepherd (29 off 55). Up until that point, Shepherd threatened to wrestle back the momentum.
Alison Healey was next, sent packing for a duck, beaten by an angled delivery that rocked back her leg stump.
It wasn’t a hat-trick as such, but when Emily Jacobs attempted a failed cover drive, Garg rattled the timber for the third time in just 15 deliveries.
At 7-84, WA’s day was done.
Rajadurai – the tournament’s leading wicket-taker – claimed another to increase her tally to 13 at 6.69 before Mayher Singh (1-25) and Aurora Mavros (1-18) quickly cleaned up the tail.
Skipper Emily Powell padded up with Aanya Siingh to commence the reply, and they saw off the new ball until Siingh (10 off 21) departed with the score on 29.
Unwavered, Powell fired up Metro’s retort, and with ten boundaries raced to an unbeaten 60 off 59 with Slayers all-rounder Lucia Martin enjoying a return to form with 27 not out off 53.
With a week’s work under their belt, Hannah Trethewy’s side now has the chance to claim back-to-back title in a rematch of last year’s decider with Victoria Metro.
Western Australia 10-110, 41 overs (Shepherd 29, Burt 14; Garg 4-6, Rajadurai 2-25, Hughes 1-17, Mavros 1-18, Singh 1-25) lost to NSW Metro 1-113, 21.5 overs (Powell 60*, Martin 27*, Siingh 10, Upton 1-10) by nine wickets
RECORDS GALORE FOR RAMPAGING COUNTRY
Records tumbled as some blistering batting helped NSW Country finish the regular rounds on a high in its match against the ACT at University Oval.
Star captain Caoimhe Bray put an exclamation mark on her excellent tournament by scoring the first century of the carnival as Country posted the highest total so far with 305.
While the team had plenty to defend, Country’s spinners stole the show by ripping through the ACT batting line-up, led by Phoebe Johnston’s four-wicket haul to seal the monster 197-run win.
Sent into bat by the opposition, Country didn’t get off to the greatest start, with opener Simran Dhatt dismissed for a duck with just the fourth ball of the innings.
The wicket brought Hunter pair Bray and Sophie Clune once again together at the crease, and just as they have done on multiple occasions throughout the tournament, they went about building a platform for the team.
After a steady start the pair started to lift the run rate and were closing in on a 100-run partnership when Clune tried to take a quick single and was run out for 26 to leave the side at 2-89 after 20 overs.
Country’s best batter throughout the competition, Bray once again looked in fine touch as she brought up her half-century – her third of the tournament – in just 58 balls.
She was joined at the crease by Molly Dare, who started slogging from the outset as Country really started to put pressure on the ACT bowlers and lift the run rate.
In seemingly a blink of an eye, Dare brought up her half-century in just 45 balls as the run rate rose to well over five an over.
The pair notched up a 100-run partnership at a very healthy rate before Bray brought up a very special milestone of her own by scoring the first century of the tournament.
With 11 fours and one six, the 14-year-old took just 114 balls to raise the bat in a fine knock for her team.
The pair continued to pile on the runs until Bray was finally caught at mid-off for an excellent 110. It ended the 142-run partnership, the largest of the tournament so far, and left the team at 3-224 in the 40th over.
In a common occurrence this tournament, the dismissal triggered another wicket, with Dare also caught at mid-off in the next over for an excellent 64.
However the middle order picked up where the pair left off, scoring at a good click as Phoebe Johnston (26), Holly Reed (17) and Ella Yates (15) all made handy contributions.
And while the team lost a couple of late wickets in the search for runs, they kept swinging to finish on 7-305 after 50 overs. It was the highest team total of the tournament, surpassing Queensland’s 268, also scored against the ACT in round six.
After an amazing innings with the bat, Country had a dream start with ball, with Lane Jordan bowling out opener Prisha Mehta with first ball of the innings.
Ahaana Chauhan and Catherine Diedricks stabilised things to take the score to 37 until the introduction of Country’s spinners changed the game again.
Left-arm orthodox bowler Ava Drury made the first breakthrough by dismissing Diedricks for seven, before Johnston and Simran Dhatt came on to pick up a wicket each and reduce the ACT to 4-50.
Dhatt picked up her second as Johnston put on a masterclass, with the left-arm wrist spinner bamboozling the ACT batters to finish with figures of 4-30 from nine overs.
After the Canberra side slumped to 8-97 from 30 overs, pace bowler Dare came to cap off her excellent match with two wickets to bowl the ACT out for 108 and seal the 197-run win. In a where quite a few carnival records fell, Country put the cherry on top with the largest win of this year’s tournament so far.
The victory left Country with a record of five wins and six losses from the regular round matches. The team finished in third and was very unlucky not to qualify for the final, to be played between NSW Metro and Victoria Metro on Thursday.
NSW Country 7-305 (Bray 110, Dare 64; Rathod 3-39, Tarrant 2-71) defeated ACT 10-108 (Chauhan 27, O’Brien 17; Johnston 4-30, Dare 2-9) by 197 runs
ROUND SIX WRAP
The top teams separated themselves from the pack during a crucial round six of the under-16 National Championships in Hobart.
With teams looking to secure their spots in the top two to qualify for the final, Country was hoping to keep in touch with the leaders as it took on Tasmania.
As always, there were plenty of twists and turns in the day’s play, with some crucial partnerships turning the contest on its head.
An injury blow threatened to derail Metro’s unbeaten run as the side prepared to line up against South Australia.
Full round wrap below.
METRO OVERCOME INJURY TO GUN ALL-ROUNDER
Metro’s title hopes remain on track following a six-wicket victory over a gallant South Australia at the Crossroads Oval.
But despite a fifth straight win, the ladder leaders’ push for the crown will have to continue in the absence of a star performer
Skye Halmarick’s tournament is over following an ankle injury sustained last Friday, with Bankstown’s Camryn Harland flown in on Saturday as cover for the gun all-rounder.
After electing to bowl, the major shake up had little influence early on as the South Aussies crashed to 4-15 in the ninth over.
Lakshmi Rajadurai took the new ball, and the Parramatta spinner made an immediate breakthrough when fill-in keeper Jessica Robertson pouched a top edge from the bat of Madelon Camilleri.
Hannah Moss doubled the damage in the next over, when the Manly medium pacer trapped Indira Panelli lbw with just three runs on the board.
It proved to be a magic morning for Moss, who then caught Ivy Hobbs short of her ground as the right-hander failed to complete a second run.
Everything NSW touched turned to gold, and so it continued when Lucia Martin yorked Eliza Pannell with her very first delivery of the day.
As is often the case in rep matches, there’s alway a twist. And this time it came in the form of a brilliant 95-run rearguard partnership by Harriet Tyrer (31 off 37) and Ilona Melegh.
A noted T20 opener, Melegh dropped down the order to No.6 and wasted no time instigating the fight back.
A fan of the aerial route, the right-hander took the attack to Martin, blasting the St George-Sutherland quick back over her head.
With the contest slipping from Metro’s grasp, it took a brilliant piece of fielding from Gunisha Garg to break the partnership.
Swooping on a firm Tyrer stroke, the Penrith all-rounder caught her short at the non-striker’s end with a bullet throw that thundered into the middle stump.
Emily Powell struck another blow in the next over to make it 6-116 in the 22nd over.
Despite the setbacks, Melegh continued to blaze away in a knock that deserved triple-figures but ended on 96 with 12 fours and three maximums.
Although South Australia were bowled out in the 41st over, with 189 on the board, they at least had something to defend.
Once again Powell (16 off 16) looked in fine touch, until the skipper was caught at slip with the score on 25.
Aanya Siingh took a particular shine to the leg-spin of Makenzie Holy, advancing down the wicket for two boundaries in the 14th over.
It would eventually lead to the Northern District opener’s undoing, as she attacked two overs later only for the ball to beat the bat and dislodge the bails.
After easing into her innings, Martin (20 off 42) was the third wicket to fall when the total reached 86.
A Moss cover drive ended in mid-pitch mayhem as both players questioned a single before Martin was run out by the keeper.
Another quick wicket would have put the girls in red back on top, but it wasn’t to be as Garg (24* off 46) anchored the innings while Moss (39 off 44) and the hard hitting Robertson (26* off 30) eventually saw Metro reach the target with more than 13 overs to spare.
With Tuesday a rest day, a win over Western Australia in the final round on Wednesday would assure Metro of a spot in Thursday’s grand final.
South Australia 10-189, 40.1 overs (Melegh 96, Tyrer 31, Rajadurai 3-26, Moss 2-17, Martin 2-38) lost to NSW Metro 4-190, 36.3 overs (Moss 39, Siingh 30, Robertson 26*) by six wickets
COUNTRY KEEP PACE WITH THE LEADERS
NSW Country has kept its hopes of qualifying for the final alive after a 54-run win over Tasmania at Lindisfarne Oval.
After opener Sophie Parsons got the team off to an excellent start, Country suffered an almighty batting collapse before some late-order hitting from Holly Reed helped get the team home against a resilient Tasmanian side.
Batting first, Country got off to a solid start, with openers Parsons and Simran Dhatt seeing off the new ball to get the team to 0-41 from the first 10 overs.
The pair was travelling along well until Dhatt was caught behind for 19 in the 11th over.
However the wicket didn’t slow the team down, with Parsons in particular looking in good touch as she worked well with Felicity Wharton to build up a nice total.
The pair moved the score along to 1-107 at the 25-over mark, with Parsons bringing up her 50 in just 58 balls.
The opener from Armidale was really putting the foot down as the run rate increased, and the pair were pushing their partnership towards 80 when Wharton was bowled by Mia Barwick for 23 to leave the side at 2-120 after 27.
Two overs later Parsons was on her way back to the pavilion, caught for an excellent 72 from 73 balls.
After such a strong start, Country was starting to stutter, with Cadence Waters, Ava Drury and Lane Jordan all dismissed cheaply to fall to 6-145.
While there was concern, this turned into outright worry when Caoimhe Bray, Country’s best batter for the tournament, was caught for 13 shortly after.
Then when Monique Krake and Sophie Clune were dismissed cheaply, Country’s innings was on life support at 9-179 with still overs to go.
However just when it looked like the team would collapse, Holly Reed and Phoebe Johnston combined for a stunning tail end masterclass to frustrate the Tasmanian side.
Together they clubbed 67 off the final 10 overs to take Country’s total to a very good 9-246 from its 50 overs, with Reed finishing with an excellent unbeaten 60 from 53 balls and Johnston on 22 not out.
In reply, Tasmanian openers Chloe Casey and Sarah Lovell got off to a cautious start, working their way to 24 from the first seven and a half overs before captain Bray ran out the latter for 13.
This saw Casey and Mia Barwick combine at the crease. And while they weren’t belting the ball to the boundary, they slowly but steadily built up the score, firstly to 1-70 from 20 overs and then 1-86 at the halfway point.
And while Barwick was playing well with a strike rate of about 80, Casey was taking a far more cautious approach, scoring at a strike rate of around 20, which meant that although Tasmania wasn’t losing wickets, the slow run rate wasn’t seriously troubling Country.
Barwick brought up her half-century in 59 balls as the pair brought up their 100-run partnership.
It seemed as though they were going to bat the overs out until Bray stood up once again in the field and ran out Barwick for an excellent 69 to break the stubborn 122-run stand.
Then, in a complete reversal to the first 43 overs, the wicket triggered a massive collapse as Tasmania remarkably lost 9-26 in the final seven overs to be bowled out for 192 with the final ball of the innings.
Just as she was in round five, left-arm orthodox spinner Ava Drury was the wrecker for Country, finishing with the impressive figures of 5-28 from nine.
The win takes Country to third place on 16 points on the ladder, one win behind leaders NSW Metro and Victoria Metro with one regular round match remaining.
NSW Country 9-246 (Parsons 72, Reed 60*; Scott 4-29, Barwick 3-35) defeated Tasmania 10-192 (Barwick 69, Casey 44; Drury 5-28, Yates 2-33) by 54 runs
ROUND FIVE WRAP
The nails were certainly given a workout during round five of the under-16 National cricket Championships in Hobart as both NSW sides were involved in dramatic thrillers.
There were multiple swings in momentum during what were the first 50-over matches of the tournament as the day featured several batting collapses, brilliant run outs and some clutch performances.
Metro was looking to extend its unbeaten run against Queensland while Country had eyes on keeping pace with the leaders in a clash against Victoria Country.
Here’s how the action unfolded.
CLUTCH COUNTRY PREVAIL IN THRILLER
A spirited lower-order fightback and a brilliant team performance with the ball has helped NSW Country secure a thrilling 11-run win over Vic Country in a seesawing contest at Pontville Park.
After the team found itself on the brink of an almighty collapse with the bat, Ella Yates showed plenty of resilience and skill with a stirring half-century to give the side something to bowl at, before an excellent display with the ball – capped off by a brilliant late spell from Ava Drury – got the side over the line in a dramatic finish.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, NSW Country got off to a tough start with star opener Sophie Parsons dismissed for a duck.
It got worse the very next ball, with fellow opener Simran Dhatt bowled for eight to leave the side floundering at 2-11.
The early wickets brought captain Caoimhe Bray to the crease. And while she had batted Country to victory in two of the team’s three previous games, the excellent Vic Country bowling attack proved difficult to face, with Bray dismissed for just two.
She was followed back to the pavilion shortly after by round four batting star Holly Reed for the same score, and then when Sophie Clune was dismissed for a well-made 19 and Molly Dare trapped in front LBW for three, suddenly Country were in serious trouble at 6-44 in the 19th over.
This brought Felicity Wharton and Ella Yates together at the crease who, with the team in danger of being skittled for double-digits, went about the repairing the innings.
While the tight Vic Country bowling didn’t allow them to open the shoulders and significantly lift the scoring rate, they showed plenty of maturity to put on 49 before Wharton was bowled for a fighting 18 from 54 balls with the team sitting at 7-93 with 14 overs remaining.
But Yates showed that she wasn’t done. The Greater Illawarra star swung the willow to work with the tail to lift Country’s score to 137 when she was run out on the final ball of the innings for an excellent 50 from 117 balls.
Defending a modest total, Country were on the lookout for early wickets.
However it was Vic Country openers Limmy Thilakarathna and Kamaljot Kaur who got off to a flyer, taking advantage of some wayward bowling to smack 29 from the first five and a half overs until Monique Krake came on and made a crucial breakthrough, bowling Thilakarathna for five.
It proved to be a game-changing moment, with Bray dismissing Sahana Tarini LBW for five and Molly Dare getting Kamaljot Kaur for 14.
Suddenly Vic Country were 3-38, and while Annie Taylor got the scoreboard ticking over again with a sharp run-a-ball 15, Krake and Dare struck again with their respective second wickets, with Wharton putting the cherry on top by claiming Chloe Sewell for a duck and reducing the Victorians to 6-57.
The NSW side was well on top and looked like they were about to rattle through the tail. However just as the NSW Country lower order had done, the Victorian side staged a stirring comeback, with Charli McLennan and Indigo Noble stopping the rot to build a partnership.
Noble in particular looked in good touch, scoring at better than a run a ball as the Victorian side brought up 100 in smart time and edged ahead in the contest.
In need of a breakthrough, NSW Country turned to Central Coast left-arm orthodox spinner Ava Drury.
In her second over, she dismissed McLennan for 10, before going on to claim the key wicket of Noble for 31 from 27 balls and then Sarah Burton in the same over to leave Vic Country at 9-110 and once again swing the momentum in NSW Country’s favour.
With 23 overs to score just 28 runs, time wasn’t an issue for the Victorian final pair. And when number nine Kamra Mishra found the boundary three times in two overs, the NSW side were getting nervous.
However there was pressure on both sides, and it seemed apt that batting hero Ella Yates had the final say, running out Vic Country’s Ruby Gardiner to bowl the side out for 126 and hand NSW Country a dramatic win.
The victory is the team’s third in fourth games and places it in fourth on the ladder with two regular round games to go before the finals.
NSW Country 10-137 (Yates 50, Clune 19; Thilakarathna 2-15, Gardiner 2-18) defeated Victoria Country 10-126 (Noble 31, Mishra 19*; Drury 3-18, Dare 2-14) by 11 runs
METRO REMAIN UNDEFEATED AFTER DRAMATIC WIN
NSW Metro has overcome a middle-order batting collapse and an excellent opposition partnership to keep its undefeated run alive with a dramatic 19-run victory over Queensland.
Emily Powell and Hannah Moss were the heroes with the bat and bowling pair Aurora Mavros and Lakshmi Rajadurai the stars with the ball as Metro showed plenty of ticker to prevail in a game that had several key swings in momentum.
Batting first, Metro got off to a tough start by losing opener Aanya Siingh for a duck in just the second over.
However with Lucia Martin joining Emily Powell at the crease, Metro slowly built a foundation for itself.
While not scoring at a blistering rate, the pair looked solid, with Powell particularly impressive as she continued her excellent form in the tournament.
They put on 81 before Martin was bowled for 34, leaving Metro on 2-84 in the 24th over.
Just like in Country’s match, the wicket triggered a collapse, with Powell run out in the very next over for a well-made 50 from 64 balls. Then when Aarna Patel and Mayher Singh were dismissed shortly after, Metro had slumped to 5-101 in the 32nd over.
That wasn’t the end of the drama, with Jessica Robertson, Neha Joshua and Aurora Mavros all falling cheaply to leave Metro in serious trouble at 8-124 with 10 overs to go.
Watching the wickets fall from the other end was Hannah Moss, who then combined with number 10 Gunisha Garg to start the fightback.
In a wonderful example of a lower-order counter-punch, the pair put on 32 at about a run a ball until Moss was eventually caught for a crucial knock of 43.
Garg kept swinging to finish on 20 not out and drag her team to a defendable total of 184 from 50 overs.
While the team got off to a tough start with the bat, it had an incredible opening with the ball, with Aurora Mavros dismissing Lauren Patterson and Chelsea Sonter for ducks in the first over to leave Queensland at an incredible 2-2 after the first over.
Queensland pair Rebecca Storrs and Filippa SueSee pushed the team’s total to 27 before spinner Lakshmi Rajadurai came on to break up the partnership, trapping Storrs in front LBW for 15 in what was the third wicket.
However just as Metro got on top, the Queenslanders launched a fightback, with SueSee and Astrid Muniandy combining at the crease.
The pair steadily worked their way to 3-53 from 15 overs then 3-91 at the halfway point as they grew in confidence.
In a brilliant display, the pair brought up their 100-run partnership as Muniandy scored her half century in 72 balls.
Queensland were well on top, and just as it appeared as if SueSee and Muniandy were going to run down the total with relative ease, a rather remarkable moment turned the match on its head.
Looking to slog a wide Mavros delivery down leg side, SueSee lost her bearings, swung around and hit the stumps with her bat to be dismissed in an unfortunate manner for a crucial 42.
As it so often does, the dismissal triggered a collapse, with Martin picking up Queensland captain Lilli Hamilton for a duck and Emily Powell capitalising on a mix-up to run out danger player Muniandy for 60.
Now Metro was on a roll and Rajadurai was bamboozling the tail end, striking twice more while Martin once again capitalised on some indecisive running to leave the Queenslanders nine down with 23 to win.
On the brink of victory, Metro showed just how good of a fielding team it is, claiming the final wicket of Mia Croucamp with another runout to bowl Queensland out for 165 and claim a thrilling 19-run win.
NSW Metro 9-184 (Powell 50, Moss 43; Stafford 2-21, Croucamp 2-21) defeated Queensland 10-165 (Muniandy 60, SueSee 42; Rajadurai 3-17, Mavros 3-25
DAY TWO WRAP
NSW Metro and Country headed into the second day of the under-16 National Cricket Championships in Hobart eager to build on their opening day success.
For Metro, following a pair of comfortable victories on day one, day two presented as a reality check against a confident Victoria Country.
In a contest that went down to the final over, Metro’s chances hinged on the blade of Aurora Mavros.
Meanwhile Country hit back after final-over disappointment in round two with a cricketing masterclass against South Australia.
Here’s how the action unfolded.
METRO MONSTER FINAL OVER
In a match they never looked like winning, gun all-rounder Aurora Mavros has pulled off a final over miracle to extend Metro’s unbeaten run to three matches.
With 13 runs required off the final six balls, the powerful North Sydney right-hander launched the first delivery from Vic Country’s Sarah Burton over the rope before trading singles with batting partner Aanya Siingh.
That left another five from the final three balls. In the end, only two were needed as Mavros found the boundary then the match winning single with a ball to spare.
It was a win that seemed a world away when captain and first day run-machine, Emily Powell, was bowled first ball in pursuit of the Victorian’s commanding 2-107.
Lucia Martin quickly came and went, then opener Hannah Moss and Jessica Robertson stemmed the flow of wickets until Moss was bowled with the final ball of the 8th over with the score on 27.
Robertson (33 off 41) slowly clicked into gear and the rate picked up with the arrival of Mavros, but when Robertson was caught in the 14th over, Metro still needed 48 at 8.0 per over.
Parramatta’s Aarna Patel continued the momentum with 14 from 17. But any hopes of a victory appeared to follow the keeper when she departed in the 19th over with 21 required.
But just as the Vics looked liked they’d done enough, Mavros had the final say.
The late heroics capped off a memorable all-round effort from Mavros. Earlier in the day she returned 1-14 from three relatively tidy overs, which were worth their weight in gold in a Vic innings that chugged along at a brisk 5.5 per over.
And despite a 75-run partnership from Annie Taylor and Charli McLennan, Metro prevented the rate from escalating out of hand. Spinner Lara Hughes bowled three watertight overs in a spell of 1-12, and fellow tweaker Robertson returned 0-21 from her full complement of four.
With Saturday a rest day, the challenges continue on Sunday when Metro face-off against a strong Queensland side in the first of the 50-over contests.
Vic Country 2-107, 20 overs (Taylor 58*, McLennan 21*; Hughes 1-12, Mavros 1-14) lost to NSW Metro 6-108, 19.5 overs (Robertson 33, Mavros 29*; Thilakarathna 2-15, Grero 2-23) by four wickets
COUNTRY BOUNCE BACK WITH MASTERCLASS
Country has bounced back from final-over defeat in round two to put on a clinical performance in a six-wicket demolition of South Australia at Clare Street Oval.
A blistering team bowling performance and then some inspired power hitting ensured that the team surpassed South Australia’s total of 63 with eight overs remaining.
Not content with just starring with the bat one day one, NSW Country skipper Caoimhe Bray got her side off to the perfect start by bowling South Australian opener Ilona Melegh with just the second ball of the innings.
Bray just couldn’t keep away from the action, catching other opener Indira Panelli off the bowling of Lane Jordan in the very next over to leave the South Australians struggling at 2-9.
The Country bowlers were on song and Jordan grabbed the limelight in the fourth over, clean bowling Aijay Willoughby and Harriet Tyrer in consecutive balls.
And while she missed out on a hat-trick, Jordan’s blistering over left her opponents reeling at 4-14.
Molly Dare then got in on the action and picked up a wicket to make 5-29.
And while Lillian Thomas helped the South Australia push the score along, a run out from Simran Dhatt and the introduction of Felicity Wharton into the attack reduced the side to 8-53 after 14 overs.
There was to be no reprieve for the South Australians, who were bowled out for 63 in the 17th over, with Jordan finishing with three wickets and Wharton bagging a double.
While only chasing a small total, Country got off to a tough start when opener Sophie Parsons was dismissed in the first over for four.
This once again brought Bray and Sophie Clune together at the crease. After their crucial partnership in round one, the pair put on 23 until Bray was dismissed for the first time in the innings, run out for 10 to leave the side at 2-27.
Holly Reed came in at second drop and showed she wasn’t going to muck around, belting 14 runs from her first four balls in a remarkable display of hitting.
The all-rounder from Orange showed absolute disdain for the bowling attack, scoring at a strike of rate more than 200 for much of her innings as she hit the ball to all parts of the field.
And while Clune was another to fall victim to Country’s issue of running between the wickets, run out for 12, Reed kept wielding the willow, smashing 32 from just 19 balls before she was dismissed just three runs short of the total.
The win took Country to a record of two wins and one loss from three games as the team remains well in the hunt for a finals berth.
South Australia 10-63 (Thomas 20, Willoughby 10; Jordan 3-10, Wharton 2-9) lost to NSW Country 4-64 (Reed 32, Clune 12; Kennedy 1-11, Shepperd 1-20) by six wickets
DAY ONE WRAP
NSW Metro and Country kicked off their respective campaigns during an explosive day one of the under-16 National Cricket Championships in Hobart.
The runs flowed and the wickets fell as the best young female cricketers were out to impress in the final carnival of the summer.
Out to secure a NSW clean sweep of junior national championships, both Metro and Country made positive starts to the tournament, with some absolute star performances from both sides.
After a dramatic first day, catch up with a wrap of the action below.
BRAY STARS FOR INCONSISTENT COUNTRY
NSW Country skipper Caoimhe Bray has showed why she’s one of the most exciting young cricketers in Australia after a blistering day one in which her side recorded one win and one loss to kick off the tournament.
Batting at number three in both games, Bray belted the ball to all parts of the ground as she racked up two unbeaten half-centuries as Country posted positive totals with the bat.
However while they were good with the willow, some wayward bowling saw the side go down in a final-over thriller to Victoria Metro in the second game of the day.
Kicking off the tournament against Western Australia Country, opener Sophie Parsons showed she wasn’t mucking around, belting a six off just the second ball of the game.
The opener from the small town of Invergowrie – just outside of Armidale – was showing plenty of intent, but as she pushed for runs she also became the first to be dismissed, falling for 13 from 10 balls in the third over.
This saw skipper Bray join Sophie Clune at the crease as the pair went about following Parsons’ lead.
In fact, they combined to belt 16 from the ninth over until Clune was run out for 18.
At the other end, Bray was in fine touch, seemingly hitting boundaries for fun as the team moved to 2-71 from 10 overs.
It was an excellent knock from the skipper, who scored at around a run a ball to put Country in a strong position.
And while Felicity Wharton was run out for 10 as the team searched for late runs, Bray ensured that her team finished with the excellent total of 3-124 from its overs, with the captain bringing up her half-century with the last ball of the innings to finish on 51 not out.
With the ball in hand, Country were looking an early breakthrough, with opening bowler Monique Krake delivering in the fourth over when Asvitha Kalaivanan hit one to Holly Reed.
Reed was in the thick of the action and two deliveries later WA found itself on 2-10 as the Western bowler picked up West Australian captain Jessica Shepherd with her first ball.
WA’s Tegan Williamson and Charlotte Toohey came in and both looked dangerous, however the team was still well off the pace at 2-40 at the halfway point.
The pair was pushing the run rate north until left-arm unorthodox spinner Phoebe Johnston bowled Williams for 21.
It was the start of a damaging period for Country, with left-arm orthodox spinner Ava Drury brought on and trapping Toohey on the pads LBW with just her second ball to dismiss her for 18 and leave the side reeling at 4-54.
While WA’s batters kept on swinging, they were never at any stage ahead in the contest, with Krake coming back into the attack and making an instant impact by dismissing Myah Burt for a dangerous 17 from 18 balls with her first ball back.
Reed then picked up her second and Lane Jordan chimed in with a wicket on the final ball as WA finished 16 runs short on 7-108 after their 20 overs.
Country took on Vic Metro in its second game of the day and observers could have been mistaken they were watching a live replay of the first as first Parsons and then Bray got the innings going after a slowish start.
The team worked its way to 1-45 from the opening 10 overs as tight bowling from the Victorian bowling unit kept the team honest.
After building up some momentum, Parsons started to break the shackles, hitting back-to-back boundaries before she was dismissed for a well-made 30 from 27 balls.
Just as she did in the first game, Bray also really started to put the foot down, at one stage hitting three boundaries in five balls as team moved to 2-83 from 15.
While things were often slow at the other end, the Country skipper was on a mission, clearing the rope and belting more boundaries as she brought up her second half-century of the day in just 40 balls.
In a sign of just how good she was seeing them, Bray helped Country pummel 40 runs from the final four over to reach 2-124 from its 20 overs, incidentally the same total from round one.
Once again, Bray was unbeaten at the end of the innings, this time on 68 from 50 balls in a dig that featured 10 fours and one six.
In reply, Victoria started incredibly well, hitting 33 from the first four overs as openers Tanya Arul and Mia Gordon took a liking to the opening bowlers.
Country were desperate for a breakthrough and it was Newcastle all-rounder Molly Dare who came up with the goods when opener Taya Arul edged one behind to keeper Sophie Clune for a well-made 17 from 18 balls with her side on 1-39 from 6.
Dare was doing an incredibly good job slowing the run rate down and bringing Country back into the contest, however at 1-63 from 10 Vic Metro were still ahead.
In particular, first-drop Mikayla Collins was impressive, turning over strike at ease as the runs continued to flow.
Phoebe Johnston came on and just as she did in the first game, claimed a key wicket in dismissing the very dangerous Mia Gordon for a run-a-ball 34, while some tight Country bowling saw the game hang in the balance with Vic Metro at 2-90 from 15.
However just as Bray dismantles the Vic Metro attack, so too did Collins to Collins to Country, belting an excellent 49 from 42 balls until she was dismissed by Reed in the second last over with her side in need of just seven runs.
Vic Metro batter Pearl Kapoor was then run out on the final ball of the 19th to leave the Victorians four down and requiring three to win from the final over.
They didn’t wait too long to tempt fate, hitting a four on the second ball to secure a dramatic six-wicket win with four balls remaining.
NSW Country 3-124 (Bray 51*, Clune 18, Parsons 13; Stevens 1-15) defeated Western Australia 7-108 (Williamson 21, Toohey 18; Reed 2-8, Krake 2-10) by 16 runs
NSW Country 2-124 (Bray 68*, Parsons 30; Aery 1-5, Rowley 1-21) lost to Victoria Metro 4-127 (Collins 49, Gordon 34; Johnston 1-10, Dare 1-11) by six wickets
POWELL’S TWIN-DIG MASTERCLASS
Flagged by coach Hannah Trethewy as the perfect leader for NSW Metro, Emily Powell showed everyone why with a pair of stunning contributions on day one of the nationals in Hobart.
On a day where Metro showed why they are among the competition favourites, Powell staked her claims as one of the premier batters in the competition.
Metro kicked off its campaign in grand style easily accounting for the ACT by seven-wickets at the TCA Ground.
After rolling the Canberra based outfit for 64, Powell then blasted 28 off 21 balls as the city girls surged to the target with 10 overs to spare.
Uncertain of the conditions in a foreign city, earlier Metro won the toss and opted to bowl.
Aurora Mavros took the new ball, and after a couple of wides the North Sydney striker found her range when she hit the stumps with the final ball of the opening over.
From the opposite end, Penrith’s Gunisha Garg also needed a moment to find her radar before she knocked over the timber in her second over.
At 2-13 in the fourth over, life didn’t get any easier for ACT. Jessica Robertson added another wicket with her spin before Skye Halmarick sent another back to the pavilion in the eighth over.
In a dominant team performance, Metro used 10 bowlers including Powell who picked up the final two wickets in the 20th and final over.
Still buzzing after the early win, the team headed south to Kingston Twin Ovals and an afternoon clash with Tasmania.
Unbeaten in her innings against the ACT, Powell immediately took guard and continued where she left off, pasting the hosts to all parts as Metro racked up 2-175 from their allotted 18.3 overs.
Apart from the odd shower, nothing could stop the Metro captain as she blazed away hitting nine fours and a maximum to once again finish unbeaten, this time on 95 from just 66 balls.
In partnership with Parramatta all-rounder Neha Joshua, the final 10 overs were a whirlwind of willow and leather as the pair added a blistering 108 for the third wicket.
Proving there were no side effects after recovering from an injured knee, Joshua climbed into the Tassie attack, launching three sixes and just as many fours.
In response, while gritty and determined, the home side lacked the fire power with the bat to seriously challenge the target.
Spinner Jessica Robertson made the initial breakthrough, but it was the deception of Lakshmi Rajadurai that caused Tasmania the most pain.
As the run rate climbed, the Tassie batters came unstuck trying to force the pace. Rajadurai bamboozled them all on the way to a stunning five-wicket haul.
In the amazing figures of 5-5 from fours overs, the spinner bowled three and had another two stumped by keeper Aarna Patel as Metro capped off its second big win of the day.
The T20 actions continues tomorrow where NSW Metro take on Victoria Country before an afternoon clash with South Australia.
ACT 10-64, 19.4 overs (Powell 2-0, Mavros 1-3, Martin 1-5, M Singh 1-4) lost to NSW Metro 3-65, 10.2 overs (Powell 28*, Martin 17) by seven wickets
NSW Metro 2-175, 18.3 overs (Powell 95*, Joshua 37*; Rogers 1-13) defeated Tasmania 7/84, 17.2 overs (Barwick 25; Rajadurai 5-5, Robertson 1-25)
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