Marg Jennings Cup: Melbourne defeats Dandenong in grand final of Under 18 female series

Zoe Samuel was judged player of the series as Victoria’s best Under 18 female players showed their wares across four matches.

Melbourne’s Marg Jennings Cup premiership team.

The inaugural Marg Jennings Cup is in Melbourne’s hands after the Demons defeated Dandenong in the final of the Under 18 Girls Premier Cricket series last Friday at Beaumaris Secondary College.

Both teams went into the match undefeated from four games, and Dandy, in first, put up a respectable 7-174 from their 50 overs.

The Demons started the chase with a wobble, losing Amelie O’Meara, Annecy Homberg and Hasrat Gill cheaply to be 3-22.

But Melbourne had showed during the series that its batting extended well down the order, and good hands from opener Mia Perrin (57 off 64 balls), No 5 Zoe Samuel (43 off 42) and Lucy Page (34 off 39) took it to victory six wickets down in the 35th over.

Dandenong left-arm opening bowler Thivyaa Mahendra impressed with 3-27 off her seven overs and leg-spinner Acacia Sutton (0-30) bowled far better than her figures suggested.

Perrin was player of the match for her innings, which included seven boundaries.

And Samuel was player of the series.

She finished on top of the run chart with 238 runs at 59.50 and a strike rate of 108.7.

Samuel hit 114 off 102 balls against Prahran in Round 1.

Dandenong had two prominent run scorers in Uvindee Wijesena (203 at 40.60) and Evie Stansby (193 at 64.33).

Wijesena fell only two runs short of a century against Ringwood.

Carlton century-maker Bridie Groves.

Carlton’s Brodie Groves did get a ton, 103 not out against Prahran in the Round 2 match at Princes Park.

Box Hill captain Isabel White had the highest score of the tournament, 141 not out off 137 deliveries against Ringwood.

Stansbie (72no), Maddie Green (92 for Geelong), Gill (63 for Melbourne), Amanprett Kaur (63 for EMP), Lili Pelosi (83 for Greenvale Kangaroos), Ashling O’Farrell (90 for Box Hill), Ribhya Syan (64no for Plenty Valley), Tia Davidge (77 for EMP), Keely Muitescu (51 for Ringwood), Perrin (57), Homberg (54 for Melbourne), Samara Dulvin (66no for Prahran), Alesha Wilkinson (51 for Greenvale Kangaroos) and Ruby Cullinan (51 for Melbourne) brought up half-centuries.

In the bowling department, leg-spinner Gill led allcomers with 11 wickets at eight.

Carlton’s Grace Kerwin collected nine wickets, including a best of 5-24, and Dandy pair Mahendra and Poppy Gardner also claimed nine scalps.

Anushi Joshi (Plenty Valley), Page and Sutton took eight wickets for the series.

And there were five-wickets bags for Sutton (5-44) and Bella Woods (5-28 against Greenvale Kangaroos).

Geelong and the Kangaroos joined with the eight women’s clubs to make a 10-team competition.

Seen by Cricket Victoria as a “finishing school’ and a vehicle for selection into the emerging player programs, it was named the Marg Jennings Cup after a pioneer of women’s cricket in Victoria, Margaret Jennings.

She played eight Tests for Australia and in 1978 captained the country to its first World Cup victory.

After her retirement Jennings continued to have an influence on women’s cricket, becoming a selector for Victoria and Australia.

Perrin was awarded the Raelee Thompson Medal as player of the final and Samuel collected the Meg Lanning Medal as player of the tournament.