Tigers miss out as Fire snatch final berth

After a tight finish to the regular season, the Queensland Fire will meet the New South Wales Breakers in the Women’s National Cricket League final to be played on Saturday 9 February at North Sydney Oval. 

The final of the premier 50-over domestic competition in Australia will feature a very similar composition to the recent Rebel WBBL|04 decider that saw the Brisbane Heat topple the Sydney Sixers.

Before the day began, the Tasmanian Tigers were in the box seat to secure a spot in their first WNCL final. However, a Meg Lanning ton plus a West Australian batting collapse turned the story-line on its head. 

A bonus point win to Queensland over the Western Fury, coupled with Tasmania’s loss to Victoria, meant the Fire leapfrogged the Tigers to finish in second position behind the Breakers. 

Opting to bowl first at Casey Fields, Queensland took full advantage of the new ball, dismantling the West Australian batting order for just 100 runs in the 38th over. Jemma Barsby was a standout with the ball, picking up 4-11 off eight overs. 

With the required bonus point in mind, Queensland came out firing with the bat. An unbeaten 44 from Beth Mooney helped Queensland chase down the slim total set by WA in just 16 overs, meaning they took away two bonus points with the win. 

While the Queenslanders had done all they could to maximise their chances of a finals berth, it was Tasmania who ultimately remained in control. In theory, the task was simple; a win would see the Tigers into their first ever WNCL final. 

With the Victorians batting first, Lanning came to the crease in the first over after Sophie Molineux was run out for 1 and proceeded to put on a masterclass at Junction Oval. A well-made century came from 97 deliveries and the Victoria captain finished her innings with 105 runs including nine boundaries. Some explosive striking from Molly Strano (46no) and Nicole Faltum (33no) at the back end of the innings powered Victoria to a total of 7-260 after their 50 overs. 

Batting for a spot in the final, a 93-run opening stand from Stefanie Daffara and Georgia Redmayne had the Tigers’ chase off to a promising start. Veteran Veronica Pyke’s defiant 53 off 45 helped the visitors stay within reach of the hefty total, however a spate of run-outs in the late stages of the match made things increasingly difficult with fewer wickets in hand. 

Tasmania’s fate was sealed when Molineux picked up her second wicket off the final ball. Victoria claimed their second win of the season and the Tigers were all out for 246, falling 14 runs short of a historic win.

Despite winning just two matches, Lanning is optimistic about the future of her side. 

"We definitely would have loved to win a couple more games. It was obviously difficult through the middle period there when we lost all our Australian players, but we’ve been able to bring some new players into the squad which is great," Lanning told cricket.com.au. 

"We’ve been able to play some new players, some debutants and the younger players have had a few more games in them as well. You’ve got Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham who are still very young and learning the game, but have sort of become senior players for us."

At Karen Rolton Oval, last-placed South Australian Scorpions recorded a 47-win over the ACT Meteors to finish their season on a high. South Australian Bridget Patterson struck her second WNCL century, putting an impressive 113 on the scoreboard off 134 balls.

The WNCL finale will be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the Cricket Australia Live app.