A team of girls from Castlemaine this week represented the region in the Western Victoria Girls Shield January 17 to 19. The team was entered in the Under 16 competition against a range of Western Victorian regions, including rep teams from Ballarat and Geelong.
The competition is an all girls competition run in Hamilton and involves five 20/20 matches over the three days. The girls stayed on site at Monivae College with access to the wonderful facilities of the college including a six lane indoor cricket centre.
Tuesday saw some extreme heat for the first two matches of the tournament.
Round 1 saw Castlemaine post a score of 4-116 of their 20 overs against Wimmera Girls. Sammy Brasher made 48 with the bat and well supported by Eve Righetti with 35 not out and the score looked competitive. The Wimmera innings hinged on their opener and despite tight bowling from the Castlemaine girls, Wimmera won on the second last ball of the match recording 6-120. Best bowling figures were Tori Van Egmond 2/21 and Shameka Grero, Chloe Butcher and Sammy Brasher all picked up one wicket each.
In Round 2 Castlemaine played Geelong on turf in the baking afternoon heat and recorded 8-69 in their allocated overs. Best batting performances were Chloe Butcher who batted from ball one to the final delivery, making 31 and Shameka Grero with 15 runs. Ice and cold water were the focus for the day as many of the players were impacted by the heat. Geelong got off to a good start but the tight Castlemaine bowling reigned them back in. Unfortunately, the Geelong Girls were too strong and passed the total at the end of the 16th oval. The wickets were shared with 1 to Shameka Grero, Eve Righetti, Tori Van Egmond and Chloe Butcher.
In Round 3 on Wednesday there was a delayed start to the first game against Colac due to rain. This was another cliffhanger. Castlemaine won the toss and batted first, making 7-83 on a very slow and wet outfield. Shameka Grero make a steady 27 not out and held the innings together. In response, Colac lost early wickets and Castlemaine looked in with a chance. In the middle overs, a number of missed opportunities for run outs would prove to cost Castlemaine dearly in the end. The game swung to and fro and in the end, Colac won with two balls to spare. Notable bowling performances were from Castlemaine 11 year olds Grace Smith and Everson Kneebone, both snagging a wicket each. The reliable openers Shameka Grero and Torii Van Egmond also took one wicket each.
Round 4 on Wednesday saw Castlemaine play Warrnambool. Warrnambool won the toss and batted first, making 4-73. A vastly improved effort in the field with two run outs and wicket takers were Tori Van Egmond and Sammy Brasher with one each. Castlemaine were hopeful of recording their first victory and their openers got them off to a bright start. Chloe Butcher and Sammy Brasher reaching 0-26 in the seventh before Chloe was bowled. The following overs saw Castlemaine lose Sammy Brasher and Eve Righetti to fall to 3-39 at the half way point. Then a great partnership between Evie Nuttal and Shameka Grero took the side’s score to 62 and within striking distance of the winning score. Shameka Grero then worked through with Laura Smolak and Tori Van Egmond to get Castlemaine over the line with three balls to spare in a great result!
The girls’ final game was scheduled to be against Sunraysia on Thursday morning and they were hopeful of continuing their continuing their good form for the final game.
CDCA’s Brian Brasher said the girls have been so keen, having two hour training sessions in the indoor facilities each of the three nights they have been at Monivae.
“Their enthusiasm for the game, their determination to improve and their support of each other has been wonderful. A team our Castlemaine community can be very proud of,” he said.