Cricket Far North: Norths skipper steers side to title glory
Norths captain Paula Fabila had to endure a few nervous moments before her side defeated Mulgrave in Sunday’s Cricket Far North Ladies decider at Walker Road.
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Norths captain Paula Fabila had to endure a few nervous moments before her side defeated Mulgrave in Sunday’s Cricket Far North Ladies decider at Walker Road.
After they bowled Mulgrave out for 75, Norths were feeling confident and in control at 1/39, with 37 runs needed to win and nine wickets in hand.
That was until Mulgrave spearhead Danaya Cahill took two wickets in as many deliveries to make it 3/39.
“When you’re out there, you just don’t know,” Fabila said.
“When Danaya got two in a row, I was like ‘this can change the game’.
“I was worried, I was really worried, because last week in our semi-final every single player got bowled, and that’s not a good stat to go to training with before a grand final.”
Four overs later and Norths were 4/44, and Fabila strode to the crease.
She produced a captain’s knock, her unbeaten 17 helping to seal victory for Norths, and brought up the winning runs with 2.5 overs to spare.
“We’ve got young girls and other girls that had never played a final before, so they were nervous out there and the leadership group had to make sure that we were cool and calm so they were being cool and calm with us,” she said.
“The girls that have never played cricket before, this is their first season, and they’ve helped us get to the grand final, and win it.
“Everyone just stuck to the game plan, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Fabila said the switch to 30-over games had been well received this season, and was likely to return next summer.
“We put it to a vote and it was pretty much unanimous for 30 overs to be played in the final,” she said.
“Moving forward, I’m pretty confident 30 overs are not going to disappear from our draw.
“It’s giving girls more time on the pitch, it’s giving more time for girls to get their bowling intact, having those extra two overs to bowl, and it’s only making girls better and better at the game.”
MATCH PREVIEW: Shutting down shot-maker key to a Norths victory
Norths captain Paula Fabila says restricting the impact of Mulgrave shot-maker and former teammate Keiryn Lenoy will be key to her side’s chances in Sunday’s Cricket Far North Ladies grand final.
Lenoy has been on fire with the bat this summer, scoring 393 runs at an average of 65.5, with a strike rate of 179.5.
In her 10 innings, the Mulgrave batswoman has finished with scores of 34*, 45*, 43, 5, 1, 42, 83*, 25, 27 and 88*.
But, with Lenoy’s three lowest scores (1, 5 and 25) all coming against Norths, Fabila was confident her side had the game plan to contain her.
“The stats show that whenever we play Mulgrave it’s always close and we’ve had success with shutting Keiryn down,” she said.
“She’s the standout player and we know she’s a threat but, being the side that we are, we take note of the other teams’ results, who’s making runs and who’s not, and what dismissals are being taken. I think we’re going in with a very good game plan.”
Mulgrave skipper Soraya Houghton backed Lenoy go to yet another level in the final.
“She’s a quality cricketer and a big asset to our team,” she said.
“We’ll be looking for her to add some runs to our score.”
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Houghton said Mulgrave would take confidence into the decider after they finished the regular season undefeated, with nine wins and one tie.
“The girls have been training pretty hard,” she said.
“Norths are going to be a tough opponent but we’re ready to go.”
Originally published as Cricket Far North: Norths skipper steers side to title glory
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