Over the weekend of 27/28th March our U14 girls participated in the WACA Female Talent Carnival held at Thornlie.
A challenging format saw the girls play 4 T20 games across the two days in fairly warm conditions – nonetheless what an experience! Here are the highlights of each game.
Game 1
Wanneroo 5/55 def Country XI 10/50
An excellent bowling performance to begin the tournament, with Jess claiming an outstanding 4/5 to set up the win, bowling a consistent line and length. Other wicket takers were Tegan 2/9, Tayla 2/11, Erin 1/5 and Chloe 1/0. Catching was a feature with good grabs from Sash, Layla and Erin and a fantastic running catch from Jaz. With the bat we saw a nice little partnership between Chloe and Layla, both scoring 10, and a steady hand from Tegan with 6* as we passed the total without too much trouble.
Game 2
Melville 4/104 def Wanneroo 8/78
We weren’t far away from a team that didn’t lose a match across the weekend – in fact, our bowlers did well to restrict Melville to their lowest score of the tournament. Wickets were hard to come by but Layla 1/0, Steffi 1/5 and Erin 1/14 found a way. Layla and Tayla also combined for a good run out. Chasing the total we saw good innings from Sash at the top of the order, batting with good poise through to drinks. This was followed by Layla, with a very well compiled 30, who enjoyed good partnerships with Soph (13) and Erin (9).
Game 3
South Perth 4/80 defeated Wanneroo 4/79. This was probably our most disappointing result of the tournament, after a steady batting performance got us to a competitive total. Great work from our top order of Elri, Sash and Grace really built a platform on which we could build an innings. With our middle order chasing quick runs, Soph was unlucky to be run out by a direct hit, but then Layla (25) and Chloe (19) set about accelerating the score, working the ball to all parts in a very tidy partnership, with both girls not out at the end having showed good maturity and discipline. Following up with the ball, we were unfortunately just too short with our length, allowing the South Perth batters to free their arms too often. Tayla 1/5, Sash 1/5 and Tahlia 1/6 led the way with the bowling, all finishing with tidy figures, as South Perth passed the score with a couple of overs remaining.
Game 4
Midland-Guildford 5/108 defeated Wanneroo 10/59
Bowling first in the heat we saw more solid performances with the ball from Tegan 1/6, Soph 1/7 and Erin 1/10 – a couple of LBWs against key batters in this period reflected the great line and length these girls bowled. We saw a great caught behind by Sash, who kept very tidily for the whole game. Tahlia was electric in the field, hitting the stumps directly no less than 5 times, two of these resulting in run outs – awesome effort! Chasing the total we fell somewhat short, but it was pleasing to see another patient and watchful innings from Elri at the top of the order, along with a well crafted 25 from Chloe off as many balls.
Reflection
At the end of the tournament it was pleasing to see that all the girls enjoyed moments of success across the four games. Performing consistently is something that we can work on, as we continue to refine our technique and ability to perform under pressure. Congratulations to Chloe and Layla who both finished in the top 10 run scorers for the tournament, and to Jess who just missed out on a similar result with the ball, after opening and closing most of our innings in style.
Thanks
I would like to thank Grace for her leadership of the team and Soph as her assistant. The girls planned all of the bowling rotations and helped me to balance workload and opportunity for the players. Thanks also to our parent volunteers who scored – Craig, Craig, Julian and Sarah – awesome effort and I appreciated your flexibility. Thanks to the parents who came and supported the girls and to those who helped with set up and pack down as we moved between ovals.
Finally, to my Assistant Coach Mark and my Team Manager Sophie – thank you for all of your efforts across the season with the U14 program. It’s been great working with you to establish this pathway for female cricket in our District.