Blues go one up over Fury in women's final
The NSWIS Blues have taken a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three final series of the Women's National Cricket League with a comprehensive 19 run win over the Western Fury at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.
In a match reduced to 30 overs a side because of rain, the Fury, chasing NSW's 4/154, were dismissed for 135 after 29.4 overs.
A bright 62 by Michelle Goszko was the highlight of the NSWIS (New South Wales Institute of Sport) Blues innings after play got under way at 1.50pm. Western Australian captain Zoe Goss won the toss and put the Blues into bat, against a threat of further afternoon rain (which did not eventuate in the end).
NSW openers Belinda Clark and Lisa Keightley looked to be setting the pace in the early overs before Clark (8) was adjudged lbw from a ball from Julie Burnett which may just have been in line with leg stump.
The partnership between Keightley and Goszko added 82 runs before Keightley (38) was drawn forward by a well-flighted ball from left-arm spinner Diane Brown. Wicketkeeper Michelle Cobb effected the stumping, confirmed by third umpire John Moore.
Brown and off-spinner Avril Fahey both gained plenty of turn on a worn pitch. Sally Griffiths (1) was Brown's second victim, holing out to Suzanne Lienert at deep mid-wicket.
Goszko and Bronwyn Calver (21*) added 44 in six overs before Goszko was brilliantly run out by bowler Zoe Goss, making a direct hit with an underarm return to the striker's end. Goszko's 82-ball innings included six fours on a ground where the boundaries are fifty metres radius, in accordance with womens national league playing conditions.
Diane Brown (2/21 from six overs) was best of the Fury bowlers, while Cherie Bambury (0/33 from four overs) was expensive in the latter stages of the Blues innings.
Western Australia began their response in strong fashion with opening batsman Cherie Bambury plundering the Blues pace attack. Elwyn Campbell contributed 9 of the opening partnership of 45 before falling to a superb catch at first slip by Lisa Keightley of the bowling of off-spinner Lisa Sthalekar. Keightley stretched out behind her to grab the ball one-handed then juggle three or four times before holding the catch.
Bambury had played aggressively, taking three boundaries off one Julie Hayes over, before being contained by Sthalekar. It was a Sthalekar wide that was Bambury's undoing, the batsman straying out of her ground as the ball went down the leg side, Leonie Coleman effecting the stumping. Bambury scored 45 from 47 balls, clubbing nine boundaries.
The required run-rate was increasing as Angele Gray (29) and Zoe Goss (15) put on a 40-run stand which was simply too slow for the circumstances, contained by the NSW bowlers. Goss's 31-ball innings ended when she got a leading edge to the ball which skied straight into the air, the catch taken by bowler Therese McGregor.
As the match slipped out of the Fury's grasp, the last seven wickets fell for the addition of 30 runs. Julie Burnett (10) fell for the second outstanding catch of the afternoon, Martha Winch running a large distance at long-off to take the catch millimetres from the ground.
Two wickets fell in the final over to bring the match to a conclusion, WA still twenty runs adrift of their target. Therese McGregor with 4/21 was the most successful of the NSW bowlers.
Game two in the best-of-three series will be played at the SCG tomorrow Saturday. The Blues have only to win tomorrow to claim the final series, a Fury victory would take the finals into a third game Sunday.
