WNCL 2022-23
South Australia have chased down another big total while Tasmania returned to winning ways
Josh Schonafinger
21 January 2023, 05:55 PM AEST
@joshschon
SCORECARD: South Australia defeat New South Wales by six wickets
South Australia have proved Thursday's big chase against New South Wales was no fluke with an almost identical result on Saturday at Karen Rolton Oval.
The Scorpions chased down NSW's 7-270 with six wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare after knocking off a state-record of 279 two days ago.
Courtney Webb was named player of the match for her superb unbeaten 101, timing her innings to perfection as she reached her milestone with only a handful of runs remaining.
With nine half-centuries already to her name, it was Webb's first hundred in the WNCL and it came off only 102 balls, and included 10 fours.
She received great support from Emma de Broughe (54 off 78) and Madeline Penna (46 off 43) as NSW struggled to find regular wickets at any stage.
Penna, who was carrying a hamstring injury during her innings, was happy to deal in boundaries, reaching the rope on seven occasions.
Jemma Barsby (28no off 19), who hit the winnings runs with a four on Thursday, again delivered the finishing blow with a boundary as South Australia kept their unbeaten streak alive.
"We tried to make sure it never really got away from us," Webb said of the required run rate after the match.
"They set another good total which was going to be difficult for us, but the likes of Jemma and Maddie scoring at a really good rate made it easy towards the back end."
Earlier, Anika Learoyd's exceptional form continued, backing up her maiden WNCL century on Thursday with another 91 at better than a run-a-ball.
Five of her teammates scored between 20 and 40, offering plenty of support all the way down the order.
Scorpions leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington was the only South Australia bowler to take multiple wickets, finishing her seven overs with 3-51.
SCORECARD: Tasmania defeat ACT by 89 runs
After a shock loss on Thursday, the Tasmania Tigers have won their sixth match of the season with a comfortable 89-run victory over the ACT Meteors in Canberra.
The Meteors knocked off the reigning champions Tasmania by 11 runs two days ago for their first win of the season, but couldn't strike again in the repeat fixture.
Sensing some momentum, Meteors captain Katie Mack sent the Tigers in at Solar Park with early wickets on the agenda.
However, it didn't eventuate as experienced campaigners Elyse Villani (45 off 55) and Lizelle Lee (49 off 72) put on 97 for the first wicket.
Allrounder Nicola Carey, having been released by the Australian ODI squad, returned and slotted in at No.3, where she top-scored with 70 off 87 balls.
Good contributions from Thursday's centurion Heather Graham (33 off 33) and Naomi Stalenberg (43 off 35) lifted the Tigers to a formidable 7-286.
Gabrielle Sutcliffe (2-57) was the only ACT bowler to take multiple wickets.
The Meteors' chase started promisingly too, as Mack, Carly Leeson (24 off 35) and Zoe Cooke (34 off 42) built a strong foundation for the home side.
But Mack's dismissal for 63 off 66 balls, with the score on 134, spelled the start of the end for ACT. Molly Strano held a sharp catch at midwicket to send ACT's skipper packing.
They lost their next seven wickets for 31 runs as spinners Sasha Moloney (3-21) and Maisy Gibson (2-29) got to work on a pitch that was taking plenty of turn.
The Tasmania fielding was also on point, with two direct-hit run outs.
A last-wicket stand of 32 between Alisha Bates and Sutcliffe frustrated the Tigers but ultimately the task was too great for the pair.
The win keeps Tasmania in third with four matches remaining, and need to finish in the top two to qualify for the final and the chance to defend their crown.
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