Stage 3 Girls make a winning start

Match Report by Julia Schaefer

A great win for Summer Hill Stage 3 Girls in Round 1 against Easts at Wallaby Way Field, finishing 4/88 after chasing Easts’ 6/87, with a bit of everything along the way!

We lost the toss and were sent in to field. Adelaide captained from behind the stumps, keeping the vocal encouragement going, while Kimaya and Amelia opened with some seriously quick, accurate bowling.

Our first wicket was a big one. Ayesha took a great catch at cover, off Amelia, to dismiss Sienna, their strongest player, for just three. Exactly the breakthrough we needed early.

Rosie followed with some fast deliveries and good work in the field. A big welcome to Emma and Nadia, both playing their first game. Despite some understandable nerves, both got stuck in. Emma finished her over with two dot balls, and Nadia bowled without a wide or no-ball.

There was plenty of chasing and backing up, with Kimaya saving several boundaries and Kavya and Zara busy in the field.

After drinks, Ivy-Jane bowled three overs of spin for 14 runs. She kept creating chances - a possible catch behind the stumps, and a few falling just short of her teammates but none quite came off. A spell that deserved more than the figures showed.

Zara shook off any bad balls she had in her in warm-up to bowl a batter through middle stump, finishing with 1/5 from two overs. Kavya also bowled well, conceding just seven from her two overs.

Then the wickets started tumbling. Amelia bowled another player in the 17th over, and the very next ball Ivy-Jane charged in around 20 paces to take a fantastic running catch. Kimaya sent another through middle stump in the following over, before Adelaide held a high catch behind the stumps off Amelia in the 19th.

Four wickets fell without a run being added - Easts went from 2/75 to 6/75. Amelia finished with a brilliant 4/9 from four overs, including a maiden, with no wides or no-balls. Kimaya took 1/14 from four, also including a maiden. She also eased her pace for a brand-new opposition batter, as agreed before the game. Lovely sportsmanship.

Chasing 88, sisters Kimaya and Kavya got us underway with nine and seven respectively, including a lovely straight boundary from Kavya. Zara added four, and Rosie played some cracking sweeps, finding the boundary twice on her way to 15 from 15 balls before retiring unbeaten.

Amelia added six unbeaten, and Nadia kept working against some tricky bowling before retiring. Emma made three from four balls, including a nice shot for two, before an unfortunate run-out. Ayesha added two before being bowled, leaving us 4/67.

Adelaide and Ivy-Jane then came together, and you could hear the difference their calling made. They read each other well and kept the runs coming, putting on an unbeaten 21 to get us home.

With four needed going into the 19th over, Ivy-Jane hit two, then a single, before Adelaide scored the winning run. Adelaide finished 11 not out from 11 balls, and Ivy-Jane seven not out.

Of course, that wasn’t quite enough excitement. Nobody had called the win yet, so Adelaide went looking for another run and almost got herself run out! A dive back into her crease saw her safely home, while the rest of us tried to work out what was happening.

Our Andiamo Player of the Match went to Amelia for her four wickets, accurate bowling and effort in the field. Across the whole game, she made the biggest contribution to creating wickets and restricting the opposition.

•⁠ ⁠Four wickets across her four overs including Sienna, Easts’ best player.

•⁠ ⁠Two wickets in consecutive deliveries in over 17: middle stump, then the catch brilliantly taken by Ivy-Jane.

•⁠ ⁠Consistent bowling pressure: repeated dots, deliveries beating the bat and no wides or no-balls recorded in her spell.

•⁠ ⁠Committed fielding: a diving effort, backing up and chasing down a near-boundary in the final over.

•⁠ ⁠A supporting contribution with the bat, staying at the crease before retiring, plus growing vocal confidence in encouraging her teammates.

Lots to be proud of across the team, and lovely to start Emma and Nadia off with a win!