Moama slowed by Shepparton, Echuca continues run

Sophie Ullah looked purposeful for the hosts in the early going, but fellow opener Alex Randall’s stint at the crease lasted only five balls before Mia Arthurson got one through on to the stumps.

The introduction of Mel Saunders proved defining to Shepparton’s hopes, and the star batter paired with Ullah to lead her side from 1-11 to 2-54, scoring at a rapid pace.

Ullah’s 11 proved useful, as did Charlotte Bevan’s identical contribution in the lower order, but it was Saunders, 32 from 23, that ultimately guided Shepparton to an all-out 94, 16 overs into their 20.

Olivia Davy (3-28) took three scalps from her four overs to lead the Moama attack, while Delaney Laffy and Beatrix Bray added two each.

Moama would have been feeling optimistic given they had four more overs than their opponent to earn the 95 runs required for victory.

Unfortunately, the Mowers’ run chase never really kicked into gear, and the visiting batters struggled to put together a defining innings.

Only Olivia Davy (11) and Delaney Laffy (12) made it into the double-digits, and although Moama still had a wicket in hand after their 20 overs had expired, the side fell six runs short of the Shepparton total at 9-88.

Phoebe Hawker’s 3-16 was both damaging and economical, while Saunders, Dianne Poole, Rebecca Laino and Lia Beecroft all took wickets.

Echuca vs Kyabram Redbacks

Echuca continued its title defence with a dominant win over Kyabram, captain Jessica Cox starring with a brilliant knock.

Batting first, Echuca encountered a little early resistance from Ky when Chloe Moyle fell in the innings’ seventh ball.

Cox came to the crease and went immediately on the attack, belting boundaries off her first two deliveries, and the Echuca run-scoring mission was on.

Maisy Byrne went with her captain as the pair went to work over the next 10 overs, both retiring unbeaten after 30 balls.

The strength of Byrne’s 35 was eclipsed only by Cox’s 51, giving the Echuca captain a rare half-century to celebrate in a competition with a 30-ball innings limit.

With the score nearing 100, the remaining batters did what was required to progress the champions to the dominant position of 2-125 at their innings conclusion.

With a big task ahead of them, Kyabram was always going to be hard pressed to match Echuca’s scoring rate, and the loss of early wickets compounded their woes.

Rebecca Bowles stood out among her teammates, retiring unbeaten before returning to be the last woman out on 26 from 35 deliveries.

In a statistical quirk, seven Redbacks batters were dismissed for exactly one run, with another two failing to score, as Ky crumbled to an all-out 59.

Six Echuca bowlers snagged wickets, Marlie Hollamby (3-7) and Holly Smith (2-4) taking multiple.

BLU vs Nathalia

BLU grabbed its first win of the season, sneaking past Nathalia with the final ball of the innings.

Requiring a boundary for victory off the final delivery, Emily Holgate (24 not-out) delivered for the Lions, securing the one-run win with five wickets in hand.

Earlier Jessica Daniel (18), and Abby Favaro helped Nathalia set a near-winning total, while Aimee Rankin (2-7) led the way with the ball for BLU.

Rochester vs Katamatite

Rochy remained unbeaten, defeating the Tigers by four wickets, 6-74 to 4-73.

Katamatite’s Christina Roberts (18 retired not-out) and Annika Edis (13) helped the Tigers post their 73, while Rochy were guided home by Imogen Kath (20 not-out) with support from Cadence Major (16).

In the final fixture of the round, Nagambie walked over Cooma by 10 wickets, while Mooroopna had the bye.

Next Sunday sees Echuca visit Nagambie, Moama host Mooroopna, and Rochester travel to Nathalia.

Kyabram will be at home against Shepparton, Cooma is away to Katamatite and BLU has the bye.