Moama knocking on door of final four
Despite a valuable win over fourth-placed Shepparton Youth Club United in round 13, Moama are still on the outside looking in on the finals picture.
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SYCU got the better of the Mowers in their round two meeting, claiming a narrow victory by six runs and in round 13 it was time for Moama to take its revenge.
Playing at home, Moama won the toss and elected to bat first, getting off to a strong start with the Mowers navigating the first five overs unscathed.
The first breakthrough for the visitors came courtesy of Dianne Poole, who beat Moama co-captain Olivia Davy all ends up for seven.
Fellow captain Delaney Laffy was the next batter in and combined well with Beatrix Bray before the latter retired on 22.
Second-drop Mia Arthurson was not long for the crease, heading back to the sheds after five balls, after Dianne Poole struck again at the halfway mark.
Laffy was joined by sister Isla at the crease where the former continued to dominate, however, Isla (3) didn’t hang around, getting trapped lbw by Lia Beecroft.
After notching a whirlwind half-century, Delaney Laffy (53) also fell to Beecroft with Jinaya Nurse (1) following suit three balls later.
Jordan Dalziel (7 not-out) and Jada Bover (6) all but steered Moama home, with Bover falling with an over to go, the third and final Laffy, Sadie remaining unbeaten (1 not-out) with Dalziel.
The Mowers finished their 20-over innings at 6-115, a reasonable total to defend on a green pitch offering plenty.
SYCU got off to a reasonable start and looked aggressive early, but Rebecca Laino (8) went chasing an Isla Laffy delivery in the third over and came undone, her shot falling into the hands of Madeline Davy.
Sophie Ullah (1) came and went in just three deliveries, spooning one to Jinaya Nurse who took the opportunity.
With both openers gone within five overs, SYCU needed to course correct, finding salvation in the partnership of Mel Saunders and Dianne Poole.
A mix-up running between the wickets in the ninth over meant Poole was run out by Isla Laffy and Mia Arthurson for seven.
After providing a stable presence in the middle overs of the run chase, Saunders retired on 29, leaving the rest up to captain Lia Beecroft and Phoebe Hawker.
Beecroft (18 not-out) and Hawker (12 not-out) saw out the remainder of the innings but were unsuccessful in chasing down the required runs, falling 24 runs short of victory.
This victory not only levelled the season series between the two teams at one-apiece but also keeps the finals' door ajar for Moama, who will need to pass SYCU or Echuca to make the top four.
With a bye next week, Moama will need to complete the seemingly impossible task of taking down the league-leading and undefeated Mooroopna Cats for a place in the final four.
Echuca keeps finals hopes alive
The girls in green travelled to Kyabram to face the Redbacks in round 13 and in the hopes of adding another win to their total and increasing finals chances.
The hosts won the toss and elected to bowl first and while they managed to strike in the fifth over, Echuca got off to a solid start with captain Jessica Cox (24) firing when she was bowled by Eliza Linehan.
Sophie Goode made a quick 13 off 14 deliveries before she was run out by Emma Roberts in the eighth over.
Opener Maisy Byrne (33) was caught behind by wicket-keeper Sarah Chaston just two overs later off Georgia Leonard.
Vice-captain Chloe Moyle was the only batter to miss out on runs, only scoring five off as many deliveries before she also edged behind to Sarah Chaston off Leonard’s bowling.
At 4-90 Echuca had runs on the board but lost more wickets than it would have liked, that is until Gillian Noelker and Kate Carlile got rolling.
The pair put on 43 for the fifth wicket and both retired in the final over, Noelker on 27 and Carlile on 18.
That meant Echuca finished with a total of 4-139, an almost guaranteed winning score against a team that had scored no more than 94 in a single game this season.
Round 13 proved to be no different for a side that has struggled to make runs in 2024-25 with only one player making double figures.
Chloe Moyle opened the bowling for Echuca and beat Melissa Parsons (1) all ends up in just the fifth ball of the innings before fellow opener Eliza Linehan (2) was also dismissed the following over.
Runs were scarce for the Redbacks who despite going a few overs without wickets couldn’t turn the strike over.
This ultimately led to the back-to-back wickets of Lauren Renden (0) and Georgia Leonard (0) by Marli Hollamby in the fifth over.
Hollamby had the Redbacks’ number when she struck for another double-wicket over, dismissing Emma Roberts (1) and Grace Hammond (0).
Sarah Chaston was Hollamby’s fifth wicket for the innings, being bowled for two.
Second-drop Penny Mason was the only resistance to Echuca’s overwhelming bowling attack, the middle-order batter hitting 15 runs off 30 balls before being caught and bowled by Chloe Moyle.
Ultimately, the Redbacks were all out for 44 in the 16th over, falling nearly 100 runs short of Echuca’s total.
Cadet Journalist