Inglis out as teams prepare for Round 1 of women’s Premier Cricket
Prahran great Emma Inglis has called a close to her Premier Cricket career. Here’s a look at how the teams are shaping up for Round 1 on Sunday.
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A notable name will be missing from team lists when the women’s firsts competition starts the Victorian Premier Cricket season on Sunday.
Prahran captain Emma Inglis, an outstanding player with the bat and wicketkeeping gloves for almost two decades in the competition, has quietly retired.
Inglis had stepped away from first-class cricket after a stint with WA in the WNCL last season.
It followed her long career for Victoria and Big Bash engagements with the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades.
Last season Inglis played her 200th Women’s Premier Firsts match, a milestone to go with many awards won at club and competition level.
As a Brunswick Park player she claimed the Una Paisley Medal as the best player in Victorian women’s club cricket in 2012-13.
Inglis began her career at Brunswick Park and went on to play 133 games for the club, which merged with Prahran in 2014.
In 214 First XI matches she hit 6900 runs at 42.59, with 11 centuries and 34 half-centuries, and had 146 catches and 107 stumpings.
Her batting was often destructive and her keeping was always spotless.
The fact that she stood up to the sticks to faster bowling so often is reflected in the number of stumpings she executed.
Prahran cricket operations manager Bryce McGain said Inglis had been an outstanding cricketer and club person.
“Absolutely superb, particularly in leading the transition from Brunswick Park to Prahran,’’ he said.
“Great leader, performed exceptionally well all the way through, we love her. She held a committee role at Brunswick Park when she was playing state cricket, just to keep the club going. She’s definitely a roll-the-sleeves-up, get-involved person.
“After putting so much into her cricket from a young age she’s probably looking for a freshen up and a break away from cricket, without talking for her.’’
Starting with the Victorian Under 12 schoolgirls, Inglis was a regular under-age state player and broke into the VicSpirit team in 2005-06.
She later captained the Vics in T20, and gained selection for the Australian Shooting Stars.
Showing another side of her sporting ability, Inglis joined the Williamstown VFLW team last year and made her state league debut. She works at the Seagulls as a dietitian.
With Inglis retiring, young state player Annabel Sutherland has been appointed captain of Prahran. Dandenong recruit Courtney Neale is vice-captain.
The True Blues will be a young First XI, having lost a number of seasoned players.
They will also have only cameo appearances from Alana King and Erica Kershaw, with both having Big Bash deals and WNCL duties.
Neale’s transfer from Dandy was one of the major off-season moves in Premier Cricket.
The other was Plenty Valley captain Rhiann O’Donnell’s switch to Melbourne, reuniting with fellow Mildura product and Demons skipper Teagan Parker.
The all-rounder has played 13 games for Victoria, including six last season, but was cut from the state contract list in the off-season.
In Round 1 Melbourne meets Essendon Maribyrnong Park, which, without its Big Bash players, will be captained by Alyssa Humphries.
EMP recruited highly regarded teenager fast bowler Georgia Gall and has a rising slowie in Jess Field, who made her debut last season and is in the state Under 18 set-up.
The club last night named reigning Raelee Thompson Club Champion Makinley Blows as skipper.
The all-rounder had a golden summer in 2019-20, hitting 825 runs and claiming 22 wickets.
Mikayla Haddow and Humphries are vice-captains.
With new captain Nicole Faltum in the Big Bash bubble, young Jess Matin will captain Dandenong in the season-opener.
Irish international and new Victorian squad member Kim Garth, a surprising omission from Big Bash squads, will support her.
With bat and ball Garth had a blast last season, sharing the Una Paisley Medal with Ringwood’s Bhavisha Devchand.
Dandenong’s Round 1 opponent, Ringwood, managed to retain its overseas player Una Raymond-Hoey, who, with COVID-19 hitting Ireland, extended her visa. She ended up staying in Melbourne.
Raymond-Hoey hit 631 runs at 35.1 last season.
With skipper Devchand and Tess Flintoff away with the Stars, Raymond-Hoey will captain Ringwood on Sunday.
Coach Kim Littlejohn said the club had kept its squad together while adding former Box Hill batter Laura Shaw, a pending transfer. She played local cricket with Heatherdale last season.
Batter Kristy Arulrajah and allrounder Olivia Henry, a batter who also bowls off-spin, are two players to watch. Both are in the Victorian Under 19 program; in fact, Ringwood has seven state Under 19 players in its First XI.
It also has the next group bubbling under, forming its new Thirds team from Outer East region Under 15 representative players.
Carlton-Brunswick is another youthful team, and is looking for steady improvement under captain Adelaide Campion.
CB will benefit from the experience of newcomers Rebecca Vandort and Nipuni Hansika, both Sri Lankan internationals.
Vandort is a wicketkeeper-batter, and Hansika an opening batter and medium pacer.
The pair was with Coburg last season.
Amber Cloughessy is playing Premier cricket in South Australia and English player Stephanie Hutchins hasn’t returned because of travel restrictions.
Three games shy of 200, Daniella Montague will captain Box Hill for the first time on Sunday.
Montague figured in all four of the club’s premierships and has lined up in eight grand finals.
With Rebecca Carter unavailable she’ll lead Box Hill out against Plenty Valley.
Box Hill has lost new Cricket Victoria board member Penelope Cleghorn to retirement and will promote players from the Second XI team that won the T20 and one-day crowns last season.
“There are some players ready to go and they’ll get their chances, particularly early in the season with Rebecca (Carter), Anna Lanning and Lara Shannon in the Women’s Big Bash hub at the moment,’’ coach Alan Carter said.
Rebecca Carter, a star of the competition last season as she peeled off 970 runs at 46.2, has linked with ACT Meteors for the WNCL season but is more than likely to continue her club cricket at Box Hill.
Players to track at the City Oval this season include Ballarat product Tahlia Meier, who joined Box Hill last season and had an encouraging season with the bat; Jas Fleming, a 15-year-old fast bowler; and medium-pacer Paris Rafferty, who made excellent progress last season after crossing from EMP.
Carter returned to Box Hill as coach last November for a second stint. His first extended to eight years and took in three premierships from seven grand final appearances.
Plenty Valley has a new coach in Janaka Deegodagamage, who had been in charge of Subbies club Taylors Lakes.
He has great experience in Sri Lanka and holds ICC Global Level 3 accreditation.
With Rhiann O’Donnell moving to Melbourne, the Bats will have a new skipper too in star opener Sophie Reid, who cracked 750 runs at 39.5 last season.
PV has a string of talented young players, including allrounder Jas Nevins, leg-spinner Grace Jones and batter Simran Gandhi, who is also useful with the ball.
Sienna Ferrara is another teenager on the rise.
Cricket Victoria competitions manager Darren Anderson said it was exciting Round 1 had arrived after months of uncertainty.
“It’s great to have the Women’s Premier Competition ‘opening the batting and taking strike’ this weekend ahead of the men, who will return to action next week,’’ Anderson said.
“No doubt the season will look a little different than normal, but or clubs, coaches, players and umpires should be commended for the way they have worked with us in navigating our way through the various protocols and requirements for a safe return to the crease.’’
ROUND 1
Dandenong v Ringwood at Shepley Oval
Melbourne v Essendon Maribyrnong Park at Beaumaris Secondary College – North Oval
Prahran v Carlton-Brunswick at Toorak Park
Box Hill v Plenty Valley at Box Hill City Oval
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