Vic Country names female squad for Australian titles January 13-20

A raft of rising stars feature in the Vic Country female cricket squad to contest the Australian championships in Canberra. Here’s a rundown on each player.

Jordan Watson of Victoria makes her ground as Queensland wicketkeeper Samantha Dixon minds the stumps in the Australian Country Cricket Championships in 2020. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The Vic Country female side will have up to eight debutants when it tackles the Australian Country Cricket Championships in Canberra from January 13-20.

The Vics have gone with a young squad, mindful of giving players an opportunity to progress to higher levels.

“In the past five years, we’ve had four girls come out of Vic Country to secure WBBL contracts or WNCL contracts,” Victorian coach Keith Jansz said.

“We want to give some of the 19-year-olds that opportunity to showcase their skills at the highest level because the standard we play at is just below WBBL.

“They’re all T20 games and it’s just really, really dynamic.

“We want to give them that opportunity and hopefully it opens the door for them.”

Alyssa Humphries.

Chelsea Moscript.

All games in the national championships are Twenty20s, and Vic Country has picked a dynamic and exciting squad.

“Extremely happy with it,” Jansz said of the 14-player squad.

“We’ve got a couple of dynamic openers in (Renee) Moffitt and (Alyssa) Humphries who like to give it a thump.

“We’ve got Steph Townsend as skipper. And Jordy Watson from Balnarring way…she’s developed into a really good player and will be suited by the T20s.”

Vic Country won the Australian title in 2019 before losing in the semi-finals in 2020.

“Overall the girls have performed extremely well in the five years that the competition has been running,” Jansz said.

“I think they’ve only lost five or six games, tops, and played off in a number of finals series.

“Most of the time the one game that they’ve lost has been a semi final or the final.

“Hopefully we can put this new crew together and gel and perform to the max.”

Steph Townsend will captain Vic Country.

The Vic Country squad:

Steph Townsend (Captain) (Warrnambool)

Top order bat, Batting all-rounder. Really likes to get on with it and dominate. A stand-out leader. Legendary netball player and coach in the Warrnambool region.

Anna Habel (Hamilton)

Accomplished batter who brings an exciting dynamic in the field. She throws herself at the ball and provides energy. Her running, throwing and catching capacity is outstanding.

Tiegan Kvanagh.

Tiegan Kavanagh (Warrnambool)

Opening bowler who generates good pace and also a good finisher in the batting order

Madi Albers (Puckapunyal)

Opening bowler who bowls tightly, builds pressure. Took six wickets for Carlton in Premier Cricket recently.

Maddie Green batting.

Maddie Green (Geelong)

Middle order bat who can bowl.

Alyssa Humphries (Casterton)

Wicketkeeper and aggressive opening batter. A fine leader, too.

Eliza Jagger (Hamilton)

Another youngster who bowls well and is a gun fielder. Also the squad’s reserve wicketkeeper.

Emma Gallagher (Gippsland)

A former state captain who brings a wealth of experience. Terrific bowler, particularly in the middle overs and at the “death”.

Kate Shallard (Bendigo)

Versatile, experienced player who bowls both left-arm spin and pace and can bat at the top of the order as well. More likely to bat in the middle order and make sure the runs are ticking over.

Jordan Watson (Mornington Peninsula)

Top order bat who can bowl good pace. A hard worker who is also dynamic in the field.

Renee Cox.

Renee Cox (Geelong)

Leg spinner and middle order bat who also has leadership qualities.

Chelsea Moscript (Gippsland)

Ex-state captain, bowls leg spin, middle order bat. Very fast in the outfield and an integral part of the team.

Renee Moffitt (Ballarat)

Explosive top order batter with match winning traits.

Sarah Mannes (Bendigo)

Scored over 500 runs in the Bendigo league last season. Deserves her opportunity at this level. Will bat near the top.