Piparo, Wilson, Perry star in WNCL wins

Ellyse Perry, Tahlia Wilson and Chloe Piparo starred in Victoria, New South Wales and  Western Australia's respective victories over Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia in the Women's National Cricket League on Thursday (January 23).

In a rain-curtailed game in Hobart, allround Victoria registered to two-run victory via Duckworth Lewis Stern method against Tasmania. Perry's opening burst restricted Tasmania to just 197 for 7 in 43 overs, before Victoria stumbled to 65 for 2 when rain returned.

Sent in to bat, Victoria ripped through Tasmania's top order with the new ball, reducing them to 27 for 3 in 11 overs - all three wickets falling to the pace of Perry. Corinne Hall (42) and Courtney Webb (18) then strung together a vital 43-run stand for the fourth wicket to provide the innings with a bit of stability. Once the duo were separated, Maisy Gibson's unbeaten 40-ball 57 at number seven took Tasmania to a somewhat competitive total.

Perry's rich haul aside, Molly Strano also picked up two wickets for Victoria.

In pursuit of 198, Victoria got off to a solid start, with their openers Sophie Molineux and Elyse Villani sharing a 51-run stand for the opening wicket. Samantha Bates gave Tasmania the breakthrough when she removed Molineux for 28 and Meg Lanning for three. Then a rain interruption halted the match, which saw Victoria being a couple of runs ahead of the DLS par score.

In the second game at Manuka Oval, in Canberra, it was one-way traffic as New South Wales Breakers downed Australian Capital Territory Meteors by seven wickets. Tahlia Wilson starred with a bat with an unbeaten 64.

Breakers won the toss and elected to bowl first. The decision seemed vindicated when they sent Erica Kershaw and Anna Lanning back for ducks. Only Katie Mack (43) in the top-order offered some resistance. She too, departed as Ashleigh Gardner dismissed her. At six for 104 the Meteors were staring down the barrel. Carly Leeson's 56 runs though ensured they got to a decent score of 187 in 46.1 overs. Rene Farrell was the pick of the bowlers for the Breakers with three wickets.

Chasing a below-par total of 188, Breakers got off to a flier as Racheal Haynes (28) and Alyssa Healy (34) put on 57 runs inside 10 overs. Meteors managed to remove both the batters and got into the game. After a brief stutter, Wilson and Naomi Stalenberg (43) saw off the chase with 18 overs to spare.

In the final game of the day in Perth, Western Australia sealed victory by 13 runs against  South Australian Scorpions. Chloe Piparo and Emma King starred with bat and ball respectively. Tahlia McGrath's efforts for South Australia, unfortunately, went in vain.

Opting to bat first, Western Australia did not have an ideal start. McGrath sent Ashley Day (14) and Heather Graham (3) cheaply. Then on the rebuilding act began. Chloe Piparo found an able ally in Nicole Bolton (43). The duo strung a partnership worth 66 runs before Bolton departed. In the meantime, Piparo after reaching fifty, too, departed for 76 runs. Mathilda Carmichael (33) and Amy Edgar (39) provided the finishing touches for the innings and took Western Australia to 251.

Chasing a competitive target, South Australia's innings revolved around Tahlia McGrath. She scored 93 off just 87 balls and looked set to reach a hundred and get more. It was a run out by Taneale Peschel that ultimately sent her back to the pavilion in the 32nd over. The wicket of McGrath, kind of, sealed the fate for South Australia. From then on Alex Price (20) and Megan Schutt with an unbeaten 20 runs tried to limit the damage but South Australia fell short by 13 runs.

Brief scores:

Tasmanian Tigers 197/7 in 43 overs (Maisy Gibson 57*, Corinne Hall 42; Ellyse Perry 3-17, Molly Strano 2-45) lost to Victoria 65/2 in 17 overs (Elyse Villani 30, Sophie Molineux 29; Samantha Bates 2-14) by two runs. PoTM: Ellyse Perry.

Australian Capital Territory 187/10 in 46.1 overs (Carly Leeson 56, Katie Mack 43; Rene Farrell 3-20, Lisa Griffith 2-44) lost to New South Wales Breakers 189/3 in 32.2 overs (Tahlia Wilson 64*, Naomi Stalenberg 43; Carly Leeson 1-20) by seven wickets. PoTM: Tahlia Wilson.

Western Australia 251/9 in 50 overs (Chloe Piparo 76, Nicole Bolton 42; Megan Schutt 3-35, Tahlia McGrath 2-56) beat South Australian Scorpions 238/10 in 48.2 overs (Tahlia McGrath 93, Bridget Patterson 26; Emma King 3-35, Heather Graham 2-45) by 13 runs. PoTM: Tahlia McGrath.