Amy Yates, Makinley Blows star as ACT and Victoria register comfortable wins

Day four of Women's National Cricket League saw four teams in action. Australian Capital Territory and Victoria registered wins over South Australia and New South Wales respectively. Makinley Blows' century and Amy Yates' six-wicket haul were the standout performances of the day.

 

South Australia v Australian Capital Territory

Amy Yates and Katie Mack starred in Australian Capital Territory's three-wicket victory over South Australia  at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide on Tuesday (September 24). Yates' somewhat belated introduction into the attack triggered a collapse for South Australia, as she picked up six wickets for just 33 runs with her medium pacers, before Mack clobbered a half-century at the top of the order to set up the chase.

In pursuit of 204, ACT got off to a good start as Mack and Claire Koski put on 76 for the first wicket in 20 overs. The wicket of Koski though - run out for 31 by Samantha Betts - changed the complexion of the match. It saw South Australia come strongly back into the game by picking up three more wickets to reduce the visitors to 122 for four in 32 overs.

Amid the storm, Mack stood tall with a sensible knock of 83. She combined for a 40-run partnership with Erica Kershaw who took the attack to South Australia with a run-a-ball fifty.

When Suzie Bates castled Mack in the 40th over, it led to another mini-collapse. However, Kershaw's unbeaten 52 saw ACT over the line in 47.2 overs.

Earlier in the day, for the second time in the tournament, South Australia got off to a splendid start with the bat before collapsing like a pack of cards. Bridget Patterson (81) and Tahlia McGrath (56) stitched together a 129-run stand in 29 overs, both scoring well-constructed half-centuries. The introduction of Yates in the 30th over derailed the hosts' innings completely.

Wickets at regular intervals saw South Australia enter the final 10 overs with five wickets in hand and only 172 on the board. However, that was not the end of it. Following the dismissal of Bates, South Australia went on to lose their final five wickets for 18 runs to be dismissed for 203 in 48.4 overs.

Yates' finished with the best-ever figures for ACT in the WNCL with 6 for 33. She was well supported by Erin Osborne who picked up two wickets.

 

New South Wales v Victoria

Makinley Blows scored 105 to take Victoria to a comfortable seven-wicket victory against New South Wales at Park 25 in Adelaide on Tuesday. Blows shared a record 164-run stand with Annabel Sutherland, who earlier in the day picked three wickets, to guide their team home.

Chasing 187, Victoria lost Elyse Vilani for a golden duck - lbw to Rene Farrell. That wicket was the only success NSW would experience for a while as Blows and Sutherland kept the scoreboard ticking at a fair clip. While the former notched up her fifty in quick time, Sutherland was happy to play second fiddle, simply feeding her partner the strike.

The defending champions finally found their second wicket in the 37th over, when Sutherland was caught by Griffith for 63, to become Farrell's second victim of the day. However, by then, the damage had already been done, as Victoria needed only a further 23 runs for victory.  The pair's second wicket partnership was the highest for Victoria against NSW.

Blows carried on in the company of Molly Strano and reached her hundred - the first of the 2019-20 WNCL - off 127 balls. She struck 11 boundaries on her way to the milestone, but was dismissed by Lauren Cheatle, the left-arm seamer, with only five runs needed. Strano and Nicole Faltum knocked off the remaining runs with 33 balls to spare.

Earlier in the day, New South Wales were pegged back early in their innings, losing both Lisa Griffith and Tahlia Wilson for ducks. Naomi Stalenberg (53) and Rachel Trenamen (52) took to rebuilding the innings immediately. The duo put on 115 runs in 30.1 overs to get their team back on track. However, soon after bringing up their fifties, the pair departed within five deliveries of each other, leaving NSW on 115 for 4.

The defending champions were unable to recover from the double blow, and were eventually restricted to a below par total of 186. Sarah Aley, the veteran fast bowler, was the only other player to make a dent in the scorecard with a run-a-ball 31 at no.9.

Sutherland was the pick of the bowlers for Victoria with figures of 3 for 27. The spin duo of Strano and Kirsten Beams picked up two wickets apiece.

 

Brief Scores: 

South Australia 203 in 48.4 overs (Bridget Patterson 81, Tahlia McGrath 56; Amy Yates 6-33, Erin Osborne 2-19) lost to Australian Capital Territory 204/7 in 47.2 overs (Katie Mack 83, Erica Kershaw 52*; Samantha Betts 2-36) by three wickets. PoM: Amy Yates.

New South Wales 186 in 49.3 overs (Naomi Stalenberg 53, Rachel Trenaman 52; Annabel Sutherland 3-27, Molly Strano 2-30) lost to Victoria 188/3 in 44.3 overs (Makinley Blows 105, A Sutherland 63; Rene Farrel 2-35) by seven wickets. PoM: Makinley Blows.