WEST Cambewarra’s Naomi Woods and her ACT/NSW Country team has claimed the 50-over title at the 2017/18 under 18 national championships after defeating New South Wales Metro by one wicket in a nail-biting Final in Canberra on Thursday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a low scoring affair, NSW Metro won the toss and elected to bat but it was ACT/NSW Country who made all the early running with Ellie Dalgarno-Fixter (4-21) claiming the first two wickets of the match.
NSW Metro's batters managed to occupy the crease but tidy bowling from ACT/NSW Country meant runs were hard to come by, with only Maddy Darke (16), Kate Barry (19) and Angelina Genford (16) reaching double figures.
Dalgarno-Fixter continued to impress with the ball, claiming two more wickets to finish with four for the match as NSW Metro was bowled out for 84.
ACT/NSW Country made a nervous start in reply, losing three early wickets to be 3-11 before Matilda Lugg (17) and Katelyn Beaumont (23) steadied the ship.
The wickets continued to fall as NSW Metro closed in on an unlikely victory, however a defiant 17 from Abby Taylor proved to be the difference, with ACT/NSW Country reaching the target with just over two overs to spare.
Dalgarno – Fixter's effort was enough to see her named Player of the Final having also finished the Championships as leading wicket-taker, while leading run-scorer Annabel Sutherland was named Player of the Championships.
In the remaining matches a patient half-century from Sutherland (55) helped Victoria secure a third-place finish after defeating the Cricket Australia XI by six wickets, while Queensland proved too good for Tasmania in their play-off for fifth spot and South Australia edged out Western Australia.
