WACA

Melville accounted for Whitfords in the opening round of the WACA Twenty20 competition. Melville won the toss and elected to bat. Caroline Brough and Lyn Hall opened the batting and got the side off to a good start with a partnership of57. Both batterstook on the Whitford's bowling and pushed hard between the wickets. (Melville supplied a sub-fielder to take the numbers on the field to 10). The run rate slowed with the introduction of a change of pace with Nicola Stevens making the breakthrough, removing Hall for 15. This brought former Fury and Shooting Stars representative Lauren Shave to the crease.Shave took a few balls to unleash her Fury, hitting a quick fire 21. Caroline Brough was the anchor of the Melville inningswith some big hitting but was unlucky to be dismissed from the bowling of spinner Lucy Millar for 49 with the score on 94. The pick of the Whitford's bowlers was Lucy Millar and Nicola Stevens. Millarended the innings with 1/11 from 2 overs andStevens with 1/20 from 4 overs. Whitford's run chase got off to a shaky start with opener Amanda Ballucci being dismissed by Shave in the second over with the score on 5. This brought Amanda Olds and Bhavi Devchand together who have been a dominant force in the B grade competition so far this season. They built a partnership of37 runs beforeMelville's Life Member and spinner Diane Brown combined with Lyn Hallto dismiss both batsmen in quick succession.Some superb fielding from Shave included 2 direct hit runouts and a catch over her head which ensured the wickets tumbled and Whitfords were dismissed forjust 56.

(Kelly Oliver)

It was a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon and perfect weather for a cricket match. With Fury players not available for the Twenty20, this was a good time for clubs to give less experienced or younger players more opportunities out in the field. Tuart Hill played against Midland-Guildford at Charles Veryard with Tuart Hill winning the toss and electing to bat first. Both captains (Connie Wong – Tuart Hill and Nicole Jorre De St Jorre – Midland Guildford) were inexperienced with the Twenty20 concept so they quickly got tips off other fellow ‘inexperienced' captains from other clubs. As it turns out, no one had any idea of the rules. Luckily one umpire was organized and brought a copy of the rules and gave us a quick lesson. Tuart Hill got off to a good start with Simone Levis (29) and Danica Goggin (24) making an excellent opening partnership of 64 before Levis got out. The pair was filled with excitement when asked by Captain Wong to open the batting for Tuart Hill. Wickets went cheaplyfor Tuart Hill after the openers left but they still able toput a respective total of 9 for 95 on the board after 20 overs. With future development in mind, Tuart Hill gave opportunities to the girls who wanted to have a bowl and utilized 7 bowlers in 20 overs. The two youngest members of the Tuart Hill side got the best figures with Emma Dixon (2 for 19) and Megan Banting (3 for 11). Both girls are part of the Rising Fury squad. Both teams were desperate for a win with Tuart Hill players diving everywhere to stop the runs, sometimes ‘over' diving on a couple of balls. Jen French(Tuart Hill) displayed great athleticism and commitment as she desperately (and continuously) dove straight into the ground to stop the ball from getting past her. Midland-Guildford was cheering every run they got and to their credit, their young batters played very well when the game went down to the wire. It came down to the last over of the day with Midland-Guildford needed 3 runs to win and Tuart Hill needed 2 more wickets. Both teams displayed great calmness under pressure but in the end, Midland-Guildford won the game with two balls remaining.Overall, it was an exciting game and was played with great sportsmanship and team spirit.

(Connie Wong)