Victorian 21 & Under Women secure Indoor title

Victoria have continued their success at the National Indoor Cricket Championships with victory in the 21 & Under Women’s Division, narrowly defeating Queensland 74-66.

Batting first, Amy Jennings led the way with 22 runs, while three wickets from Player of the Final and Series, Maddie Wright, saw Victoria defend their total.

Despite Nicole Martin’s best efforts (22 runs, 2 wickets), Victoria’s Open Women’s team were unable to win their third consecutive National Championships title going down to a strong Queensland team 81-59. However, Danielle Montague capped off a strong tournament (89 runs, 12 wickets) winning Player of the Series honours.

Victoria’s Open Men’s side narrowly missed out on a Grand Final appearance as they too were edged out by Queensland in the Preliminary Final 53-47. Clive Rose, Victoria’s leading player at the Championships, again showed strong form with the bat (16 runs, 1 wicket), while Brad Jones chipped in with three wickets.

Victoria’s Lord’s Taverners team finished as Runners-Up as they were comfortably defeated by a strong South Australia lineup. The consistent performances of Craig Whitehand (202 runs, 16 wickets) and Chris Anderson (168 runs, 19 wickets) throughout the tournament were a highlight for the team.

Well done to everyone involved on another fantastic National Indoor Cricket Championships.

Congratulations also to the following Victorians who have been selected to represent Australia in the upcoming WICF Indoor Cricket World Cup in Dubai.

Open Men’s: Travis Baker, Justin Perkins, Ross Gregory (Coach)

Open Women’s: Nicole Martin, Briony Polkinghorne, Laura Shaw

21 & Under Women’s: Adelaide Campion, Amy Jennings, Chloe Rafferty, Maddie Wright

A special congratulations to Victoria’s own Briony Polkinghorne who has also been named International Women’s Player of the Year.

Polkinghorne (102 runs, 6 wickets) was again a force for Victoria throughout the tournament, and after being part of the last two winning Victorian Open Women’s teams at the National Championships, she can add the Player of the Year award to her impressive Indoor Cricket resume.  

Australia is the reigning WICF Indoor Cricket World Cup champion in each division, and will set out to defend its titles in September.