After an exciting opening round at Donald, Wimmera Girls Cricket League players will turn their attention to Horsham’s Dudley Cornell Park for round two on Sunday. 

The Horsham Sixers will make their debut for the season against the impressive Stawell Strikers on the turf wicket. 

It will be great to see two of the upcoming fast bowlers, Ayva Mitchell, Strikers, and Lucy Avery, Sixers, go head to head.

Meanwhile on the synthetic wicket, we will find out if the improved Horsham Hurricanes can cause an upset against the impressive Wimmera Mallee Belles team. In what is expected to be a high-scoring affair, both teams boast imposing opening batters with Maddi Fitzpatrick, Belles, and Georgia Baker-Miller, Hurricanes, holding the keys to getting their respective teams off to a fast start.

Newcomers Stawell Strikers made an impression in their first game in the competition, claiming victory over Horsham Hurricanes.

The Strikers won the bat flip and elected to field first. 

Ayva Mitchell bowled the first over for the franchise in an impressive display of pace and control.

Although she looked to have the batters in trouble early, Georgia Baker-Miller found form and cracked several balls to the boundary on her way to a game-high 28 from her allotment of 15 balls. 

The Hurricanes batters contributed to the score evenly as the Strikers went wicketless for the first 10 overs. 

However, some brilliance in the field from the Strikers saw Lilly Reading, Ella Moloney and Grace Collins all claim run outs. 

At the end of 20 overs the Hurricanes were on 120, setting up a tense second chapter. 

The Strikers got off to a good start, racing to 43 in the seventh over before losing a wicket. Chloe Moloney, 21no, and Reading, 20no, combined at the top of the order to set up the run chase.

The Hurricanes put the clamps on the Strikers chase for several overs, with Baker-Miller taking an athletic caught and bowled on her follow through. 

Emma Uebergang snared two wickets in her second over and it looked like the momentum would see the Hurricanes claim the victory. 

Strikers debutants Matilda Venn, Amelia Moloney and Collins had their own thoughts of victory and were able to hold off the fast-finishing Hurricanes to steer the Strikers to a five-run victory.

The Wimmera Mallee Belles claimed victory over Wimmera Roos in a rematch of last season’s top teams.

In an entertaining and high-quality game, the Belles won the toss and started off with a bang thanks to Maddi Fitzpatrick’s hard hitting 41. 

Her knock included eight boundaries and a six to get the Belles off to a flyer. 

The Roos, however, never took a backward step, constantly displaying high standards in the field and snaring wickets throughout the 20 overs. 

Lilly Schorback was the standout with the ball, fighting back from a rough start that saw her final 20 balls yield four wickets and only concede seven runs. 

The Belles finished their allotment of 20 overs with a score of 145.

In reply, the Roos started well with Lilly Schorback displaying her allrounder abilities with 18, but a disciplined display with the ball saw the Belles get on top following the openers retirement. 

Multiple wickets to the Belles’ Bridie Reid, Abby Weir and Fitzpatrick meant the Roos were left with a large task at the back end of their innings if they were to claim victory. 

Paige Glover’s 18 not out gave the Roo’s a glimmer of hope, but a glimmer was all it was to be as the Belle’s clinical execution in the field saw the Roos finish short of the total on 109.

– Tony Caccaviello

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