Narrabri District Cricket Association hosted the inaugural women’s T10 match at Collins Park ahead of last month’s Town v Country Charity Cup game, which the board and Narrabri District Women’s Cricket Association committee are now hoping will be a regular feature of the annual event going forward.
Players from all four NDWCA teams lined up across the two sides, which were not Town and Country-style lineups but were rather a mix of the competitors in the local women’s competition.
The Blue team were the winners of the match as they downed the Red team by five runs after batting first and making 5-53 in 10 overs before restricting the chasing side to 3-48 in 10 overs.
Everyone batted during the evening as players from both sides retired to ensure all of their teammates were able to spend some time at the crease.
Taryn Kirk opened the batting for the Blue team and set the tone with an unbeaten 11 runs before retiring, and her teammate Emily Flood did the most damage as she blasted three boundaries on her way to a match-high score of 16. She too remained unbeaten after retiring.
Ness Rose (2-10 from two overs) produced game-best bowling figures in that innings, Jade Williams (1-12 from two overs) also took a wicket and there were two runouts.
NDWCA’s standout batter across the first three seasons, Grace Farrer, opened the batting for the Red team and produced an unbeaten team-best 13 runs before retiring. She and her opening partner Jade Williams (7*) hit the only two boundaries of the second innings.
The Red team were on track to win the match as they batted their way to 1-37 after seven overs, which meant they required 17 runs to win from the final three overs.
However, their momentum was halted in the eighth over when the Blue team’s Velvet Craigie bowled a maiden to put her side back on the front foot.
Karen Baker took a wicket during the following over and only conceded three runs, and then Amy Trindall took the ball for the final over and limited the Red team to seven runs as they fell six short of victory.
There was also a runout in that last over as the score finished at 3-48, with Baker (1-7 from two overs) and Candice Stang (1-5 from one over) being the Blue Team’s two wicket-takers.
NDWCA president Mark Page told The Courier that the match was entertaining to watch.
“It was a great game and the girls all seemed to love it,” Page said.
“It was really good to bring players from all of our teams together, which will help build more camaraderie throughout the competition.
“The field played a little bit slow after all the rain we’ve had, but there were still a few boundaries hit.
“It was a good game to watch and it came down to the last over.”
The NDWCA’s 2024/25 season is currently on a break and will resume on Saturday, February 8 for the final three rounds of the regular season and then the finals, with grand final day scheduled for Saturday, March 8.
Games across the last three regular season rounds are expected to be played side-by-side on Hogan Oval and Leitch Oval on Saturday nights, with the installation of the new lights on Collins Park and Leitch Oval late last year meaning matches will no longer be required to be played on different nights.
Photos: Tom Pattison and Bruce Malcolm
