Barsby eyes another piece of family history

Spinner Jemma Barsby hopes to follow in the footsteps of her father by creating a piece of Queensland cricket history on Saturday.

Queensland will be out to win their first Women’s National Cricket League when they meet 19-time winners New South Wales in the 50-over domestic final at North Sydney Oval, having fallen short at the final hurdle in the 2016-17 decider.

Trevor Barsby – Jemma’s father – famously scored 151 as Queensland thrashed South Australia by an innings and 101 runs to take out their ever Sheffield Shield final in 1995.

Barsby Junior has already helped the Brisbane Heat win their maiden Rebel WBBL title this summer and now she’s eyeing a second piece of silverware – the Ruth Preddy Cup.

“We’re a step closer to bringing the trophy back which is definitely nice,” Barsby said as the Queensland Fire squad made their way to Sydney on Thursday.

Queensland won both their final-round WNCL matches last weekend, just one week after a group made up largely of the same players upset the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL final.

The Heat players were presented with the Keys to the City by Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk on Wednesday, but Barsby is well aware achieving the same result this weekend will be no easy task against a NSW side that combines the best of the Sixers and the Thunder.

“Hopefully with that momentum we can go into the game full strength and bring the trophy home,” Barsby said.

“NSW are a class side, playing in 23 consecutive finals sums up how good they are, so if we can go there and get the win it’d be absolutely amazing and to get the double (with the WBBL) would just top it off.

“We’ve been very fortunate the Brisbane Heat side is almost identical to our Fire side, just without the two internationals (and Holly Ferling) so that’s been very key for us, taking a consistent side through both formats.

“Hopefully that pays dividends this weekend.”

Barsby, a right-arm off-spinner who also has the ability to bowl with her left arm, heads into the final in excellent form after picking up 4-11 against Western Australia to help Queensland qualify for the final last Sunday.

She’s taken a total of 10 wickets at 17.80, with an economy rate of 3.49, across six regular-season WNCL matches, sitting alongside the 14 she took for the Brisbane Heat during WBBL|04, and says she’s relished the challenge no matter what point of the innings she’s thrown the ball.

It’s an attitude that will stand her in good stead against the star-studded NSW batting line-up containing Australian stars Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes and Ashleigh Gardner.

“I’m super competitive so when I step over that white line I click into a different mode and that’s what helps me,” she said.

The 23-year-old, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis four years ago, says she’s felt the fittest she’s been through what’s been a demanding summer of domestic cricket that started with the first round of WNCL in late September.

“With all the travel we’ve had to do, we’ve been away for 11 out of (the last) 12 weeks and as a whole group we’ve been able to manage our injuries, which is pleasing.

“We’ve been smart about the way we’ve done it and credit to our staff too, for managing our workloads through that period.”

The WNCL final will be streamed live on cricket.com.au and on the CA Live app, with the match kicking off at 10am AEDT on Saturday.