Although they missed out on a bonus point, Queensland remain in the box seat for a WNCL final berth
Match Report:
ScorecardParsons spins Fire to cusp of WNCL final
A career-best haul from Grace Parsons has led Queensland to their seventh win of the WNCL season and kept them in the box seat to qualify for this year's decider.
Parsons grabbed the first four wickets of Victoria's chase after a promising start had the visitors dreaming of their first victory of the season.
But the young leg-spinner's 5-37 flipped the momentum to seal the 50-run win and snap the Fire's four-game losing streak.
The only sour note to Queensland's day was a missed opportunity to claim a valuable bonus point, with the last wicket pairing of Sophie Day and Hasrat Gill frustrating the Fire for 41 runs as the Vics narrowly passed the mark of 230.
But despite the missed extra point and despite South Australia's win over New South Wales in Adelaide, Queensland's equation on Saturday remains the same: Defeat Victoria again to stay in the hunt for the final.
Their superior net run rate over SA also holds them in good stead, but does leave them vulnerable to being jumped on bonus points by either SA or Western Australia. Today's results also ended ACT's slim final hopes.
WNCL 2025-26 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
NSW
|
11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.024 | 0 | 4 | 44 |
|
2
WA
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.183 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
|
3
QLD
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.159 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
|
4
SA
|
11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.117 | 0 | 1 | 31 |
|
5
ACT
|
11 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -0.277 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
|
6
TAS
|
12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.002 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
|
7
VIC
|
11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | -1.028 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
PTS: Total points
Chasing the Fire's 6-288, Victoria promoted captain Rhys McKenna up to open with Ella Hayward in the absence of the injured Nicole Faltum and the move paid off handsomely.
The pair combined for an 82-run opening stand, the Vics' highest of the season, and McKenna hit two sixes in her 41-ball half-century.
But Parsons' introduction into the attack was the catalyst for a disastrous Victorian collapse, as she claimed the wickets of both openers stumped, lulling them down the wicket and into no-man's land.
Wicketkeeper Georgia Redmayne gleefully accepted the chances before Parsons claimed Samara Dulvin (3) caught behind and Olivia Henry (12) lbw.
The visitors had lost 4-21 and undone all of their earlier good work through the Powerplay.
After a further wobble that saw Jess Jonassen pick up a couple of wickets, Zoe Samuel got Victoria back into the game with an enterprising 33 from only 24 balls.
Samuel showed her talent with some expansive drives after showing plenty of promise with the ball in the morning session.
But fittingly, it was Parsons who returned and took the pivotal wicket, Samuel caught at cover, for the first five-wicket haul of her WNCL career. Led by captain Redmayne, who was the first on the scene, Parsons was swamped by her joyous teammates, eager to congratulate their young star.
"They were stoked (for me)," Parsons said after the match, while agreeing it was the best she'd bowled all season.
"You can get into a flow and it definitely felt like that today.
"I've been working on a few things so it's nice when it comes off."
On the bonus point situation, Parsons said her team knew of the equation.
"We're always aware of that kind of thing," Parsons said.
"Games like this, you always want to win and win as big as you can. So we'll probably be a little bit disappointed that we didn't get the bonus point."
Grace Harris chimed in with two last wickets too, including the final wicket in the match's penultimate over.
Earlier, McKenna chose to bowl first when the coin fell her way at the start of play, but Queensland's new opening partnership made her regret that decision.
New full-time captain Redmayne was joined at the top by the woman she replaced in charge, Jonassen, and the duo put on 119 for the first wicket.
Although neither Redmayne (54) or Jonassen (69) could go on to three figures, with both falling to the leg-spin of Gill, there was more than enough batting to keep the runs flowing.
The returning Harris struck the ball sweetly in her 50-ball 58, while Lauren Winfield-Hill (36) and Annie O'Neil (32) both finished with a strike rate above 100.
McKenna used all her bowlers in short spells as the sticky 34C Brisbane day challenged the fielding side, but it was 19-year-old Samuel who emerged as the pick of the bowlers.
She took 3-52, the best WNCL figures of her fledgling career, with all three wickets coming in different spells in the second half of the Fire innings.
WNCL 2025-26 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
NSW
|
11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.024 | 0 | 4 | 44 |
|
2
WA
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.183 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
|
3
QLD
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.159 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
|
4
SA
|
11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.117 | 0 | 1 | 31 |
|
5
ACT
|
11 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -0.277 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
|
6
TAS
|
12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.002 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
|
7
VIC
|
11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | -1.028 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
PTS: Total points