U19 Girls On Track

The Female Queensland Under 19s team have had a phenomenal start to their campaign at the National Championships this week. After completing 4 of their 8 fixtures in Perth, the team are undefeated. Sitting on top of the ladder, the Queensland side are on 16 points with a net run rate of 1.98.

To kickstart their campaign on Monday, QLD competed against Victoria Country at the WACA. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Lily Bassingthwaighte (22) and Lucy Bourke (36) got the team off to a strong start.

The two contracted athletes had an opening partnership of 42 which led them to a competitve total of 8/122 (20 overs). Bassingthwaighte also starred with the ball taking 2/6 off 3 overs using her extra pace to dismiss one of the Victorian opening batters with just her second ball of the tournament.

Off-spinners Ruby Orchard and Lilli Hamilton both had strong spells of 1/12 off 3 and Mahli Rae contributed with 2/15. A team of all-rounders saw 8 bowlers be used to restrict Victoria Country to just 7/91 as QLD secured their first victory.

To conclude the first day, a second T20 was played at Justin Langer Oval against Tasmania. Following good form in the first game, QLD opted to bat first once again.

Grace Collins had a match winnning performance of 49* off 44 deliveries supported by Warwick product, Lucy Bourke (34). Every batter who took the field made a solid contribution as the team powered to 3/159.

Queensland took the lead early and with a continuous flow of wickets, it was always going to be difficult for Tasmania to chase such a large total.

Coming back from injury, Trinity Doyle played a vital bowling role with 3/16 off 3.3 as Mahli Rea picked up another two wickets to her name. Tasmania scrambled to 75 before being bolwed out in the 18th over. 

As day 2 began, the QLD captain continued her luck choosing to bat once again in a competitive match up against New South Wales Country.

Sydney Sixers young gun, Caoimhe Bray opened the bowling taking a handy 1/14 off 3. Another standout performance from opening batter Bourke saw an important 27 runs off 32 deliveries.

The entire order had to contribute as a constant flow of wickets were conceded to the NSW Country side. A middle order knock from Mahli Rea with 15 off 11 was crucial for the end result of the match as every run held value.

Queensland finished their innings on 9/102. Lilli Hamilton bowled a clinical spell with her right arm off-spin taking 3/10 off 4 as Rea followed with 3/9. NSW Country put up a fight but with a cluster of wickets in the middle overs, they finished on only 9/77. 

In a change of events, ACT won the toss and sent QLD in to bowl at Breckler Park. As spin continued to be a vital asset, Ruby Orchard took two wickets and Lilli Hamilton added one more to her name at an economy of just 3.25. ACT were restricted to 7/119. Bourke's form continued as the Valleys DCC player crunched 53* (52) to secure a convincing 8 wicket victory.

Following the most recent match (round 4), Lucy Bourke is the third highest run scorer with 150 runs at an average of 50, just 5 runs behind the number one position.

Mahli Rea is also seated at number three in the wickets column having taken 8 at an average of 6. The superb glovework of Chelsea Sonter also can not be overlooked with 3 stumpings, a catch and a run out for the QLD side. 

Wednesday includes a much needed rest before fixtures against Western Australia (today 10am AWST) and Victoria Metro (Friday 10am AWST). The competition will move into the 50 over format on Sunday before concluding with a grand final on Monday at 11am AWST.