Nagambie suffered the cruellest of defeats in the Cricket Shepparton Women’s grand final on Sunday, going down to Mooroopna despite recording an unbeaten regular season.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
An undefeated regular season has ended in heartbreak for Nagambie, with the Lakers suffering a cruel loss to Mooroopna in the Cricket Shepparton Women’s grand final on Sunday at Nagambie Recreation Reserve.
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Despite rarely, if ever, looking troubled at any point throughout the season, racking up 11 straight wins, four of which came convincingly over Mooroopna, Nagambie was unable to put it together on the day it mattered most, bowled out for the first time this season with only 74 runs on the board, a target the Cats had little issue tracking down to win by eight wickets within 15 overs.
It was Mooroopna skipper Mia Earl who struck the first blow with the Lakers first to bat, enticing a snick from Madi Albers in the second over of the game.
Nagambie’s Bre Davison rode her luck at times but, together with competition leading run-scorer Kayla Shepherd at the other end, began to tick the scoreboard over.
That was until Mooroopna’s Tamsyn Hutchins snuck a delivery through Davison’s defences to end the partnership, and some tight bowling from Alyce O’Connell helped keep Nagambie to 2-43 after 10 overs.
First ball after drinks, the Cats got the wicket they were after.
Ebony Sleeth had the dangerous Shepherd bowled for 17, a timely strike as the Lakers talisman looked ominous.
Seamer Bella Woods took a moment to find her radar but when she did, it was with laser-like precision, knocking over Amber Langham before chaos erupted in the 12th over.
A mix-up between the stumps and Earls second wicket of the innings reduced Nagambie to 6-48, with Shelley Houston digging in for 12 runs before Hutchins trapped her LBW.
Kelsey Abbott led the fightback for the Lakers, hitting a defiant 15 runs in an effort to pull Nagambie to a defendable total.
Some crafty death bowling from Sleeth, however, resulted in a two-wicket over to end the innings, a stifling one with the ball and in the field.
Sleeth ended with 3-15, while Earl (2-15), Hutchins (2-10) and Woods were prominent in the carnage.
Mooroopna's Ebony Sleeth clips a ball through mid-wicket.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Nagambie's Breanna Davison bends the back.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Mooroopna celebrate a wicket.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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The Nagambie dugout offer some encouragement.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Ebony Sleeth celebrates with teammates.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Kelsey Abbott returns to the sideline after an important knock.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Mooroopna's Mia Earl steams in.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Nagambie's Madison Albers dials up the pace.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
A target of 75 was set for the Cats to dole out two consecutive years of heartbreak for the Lakers, and the opening combination of Sleeth and Poppy Vandermeer did not let the side down.
Barring a few LBW shouts off some tight bowling from Davison, the Cats’ openers remained composed, though there was concern for Sleeth after a short delivery struck her in the face.
A crunching straight drive shortly after assuaged any concerns, and the Cats sat comfortably at 0-25 after five overs.
However, Nagambie would not go down quietly.
A mix-up in the middle saw Sleeth run out for 20, and when Hutchins skied a ball to mid-wicket off the bowling of Sharay Slivarichto hand the Lakers their second wicket, it seemed to be game on.
O’Connell’s appearance to the crease proved to break the brief stalemate, blitzing three boundaries as Vandermeer continued to zip between the wickets on her way to a game high score of 30.
And of course, the Cricket Shepparton Women’s premiership.
For all-round dominance, the best-on-ground award deserved an all-round recipient, and Ebony Sleeth delivered just that for Mooroopna claiming 3-15 and 20 runs.
The eight-wicket victory marks the Cats as the first premier of the revamped women’s competition and clinches their billing as the competition’s best club across multiple seasons.
