Bounce-back queens: How the Fire overcame a Heat humbling

Georgia Redmayne can still see the bails flying through the air. Backing up at the non-striker’s end on 97 and with the fate of the 2024-25 WNCL final largely in her hands, the Queensland captain was suddenly no more than a spectator in the split second that Nicola Hancock’s straight drive took a wicked deflection off the palms of Lauren Cheatle and collided with the stumps.

It was the moment the Fire’s bid for a second WNCL title went up in smoke; a most unfortunate end to an ugly collapse of 8-59 that cost them the final. And one which, as the precipitator of a fifth straight decider defeat for the Fire and Brisbane Heat in just two seasons, Redmayne feared might have etched itself into the subconscious of her shattered players.

“You can see some crazy stuff happen in finals,” she tells cricket.com.au. “And those sorts of things, they can stick in your mind for a while.”

Twelve months on, they find themselves in a familiar spot.

Same opponent. Same end goal.

But a different place on the ladder. A different place for the final.

And in a different place mentally.

* * *

Redmayne had not long landed in Perth, still feeling the effects of concussion from a knock she had suffered in the Caribbean Premier League, when the Queensland group shook off their nasty final hangover on the first weekend of the 2025-26 WNCL season.

Almost seven months had passed since the nightmare against the Breakers. Many members of the squad had been away through large swathes of time in that period, playing in overseas tournaments or with higher representative sides.

After impressing through 2024-25, allrounder Sianna Ginger found herself in the latter category, selected for Australia A in series against their English and Indian counterparts.

The Townsville product impressed with the bat (she made scores of 54 and 103) as well as with her right-arm pace, collecting hauls of 4-16 and a career-best 5-35 against England A and finding herself benefiting from another level of high performance.

“Playing for ‘Aus A’, it was a lot of the Australian (support) staff, so it was cool to play under the same framework as them,” Ginger tells cricket.com.au. “Seeing their KPIs, and what markers they’re trying to hit, helps you set new benchmarks for your own game and bring some of those things back into state land.

“The scouting side of things, too, seeing how diligent they are and trying to replicate that.”

Back at Queensland however, achieving that level of preparation was challenging. State bodies are not necessarily financially equipped to supply their teams with the support staff they sometimes crave. As the Fire went into the summer, they did so without an analyst, and even without a full-time bowling coach; their strength and conditioning trainer – former first-class quick Burt Cockley – was also asked to step in and fill that void.

“It’s been a massive load on him, but I think he’s handled it as best he can,” Ginger says. “Last year, it was similar with that role – we didn’t have someone full-time and at every session that we probably needed them to be, so I think our bowling group got a lot better at leaning on each other, and learning from each other.

“That’s helped us out this year when he’s had to go and run gym sessions while we’ve still got bowlers bowling.”

Lending his experience too has been veteran bowling coach Andy Bichel, who nowadays plays a number of roles at Queensland Cricket (QC), regularly mentoring pace bowlers across the programs as needed. Bichel worked with the Fire squad in pre-season, and has again stepped in these past few weeks in the lead-up to Saturday’s final against the Breakers in Sydney.

His involvement, Ginger says, has been invaluable.

“I bowled two balls yesterday,” she explains, “and he said something like, ‘get the momentum of your head moving towards the stumps’.

“Little snippets like that can go a long way, especially at this point of the season where you don’t want to be delving too far into technique, but those little one percenters can make a big difference and not mess with the mind too much.

“He’s just brought great energy to the group, and the girls love him. It’d be nice to have him around more.”

A batting allrounder at heart, Ginger went into the season knowing she would be playing an important role with the ball. A year earlier she had discovered quite the weapon in her armoury; an ability to swing the ball into the right-hander. Consequently, and at times depending on the availability of others, she has often been deployed as an opening bowler.

“I haven’t intended for my bowling to be my strong suit,” she says, “but I’ve developed a love for bowling over the last year or two, and investing more into it and learning a bit more about it.”

The upshot for Queensland has been her 19 wickets at just 4.59 runs per over – currently just one wicket shy of the two most productive WNCL campaigns by Fire bowlers in the competition’s history.

And her first two wickets – taken at the WACA Ground as Redmayne watched on with a sore head – might well have changed the course of the Fire’s season.

* * *

Having turned 20 two months earlier, Ginger was the veteran first-change option behind the Fire’s teenage opening pair of Lucy Hamilton and debutant Bonnie Berry on that opening weekend of this summer’s WNCL.

And with Western Australia flying at 1-124 in pursuit of 237, she was called upon for a second spell. Her first, of four overs, had cost just six runs, and this time it took her only two balls to make the key intervention, as Chloe Piparo shelled a full inswinger straight to skipper Jess Jonassen at mid-off. Two overs later, Ginger removed Heather Graham in precisely the same way, kick-starting a WA implosion of 9-48.

Suddenly, Queensland were the team instigating collapses rather than suffering them. It stirred belief. Two days later, the Fire found themselves in serious strife at 5-101 chasing 274.

“We were on the back foot there massively,” remembers Ginger. “And then we had a really amazing partnership between Annie (O’Neil – 86no off 77) and ‘Loz’ (Lauren Winfield-Hill – 59 off 51).”

The pair added 99 in 15 overs to set them on course for a terrific win. In many ways, it was an unlikely stand. Englishwoman Winfield-Hill had been used all across the top six by Queensland in the previous two summers, though never at No.7, where she was deployed in Perth to accommodate the return of Redmayne as opener.

Just a fortnight earlier, the 35-year-old had blasted a Yorkshire record 194 from just 126 balls as opener in the UK’s domestic 50-over competition to demonstrate she was in serious form.

O’Neil meanwhile, had been discarded by South Australia after seven seasons, but quickly impressed in the Brisbane-based KFC T20 Max competition with Wests. And on the same weekend as Winfield-Hill was hitting them to all parts in England, O’Neil was doing likewise at Oxenham Park, crashing a match-winning 77 from 46 balls in the final of the KFC T20 Max.

Off the back of that – and still without a Queensland contract – the then 26-year-old was picked to travel to WA for those opening WNCL fixtures.

“I didn’t actually meet her until we were in Perth, the night before the first game,” says Redmayne. “But it was South Australia’s loss, and our gain – steering us to that pretty incredible win was definitely a good way to make an impact at your new state.”

Just one weekend into the season, Queensland had produced a pair of remarkable victories, instilling within them a sense of confidence which might otherwise have been on shaky ground.

“Especially that second game, I’d pinpoint that one,” Ginger says. “To get a win like that so early in the season was really special.”

They left Perth with nine points to Western Australia’s zero.

“When you consider how the table ended up (with Queensland only five points ahead of WA),” Redmayne points out, “those wins were crucial.”

* * *

On October 12, it was a case of lightning striking twice for Queensland. After slipping to 6-101 chasing ACT’s 8-277, it was again Winfield-Hill (101no off 87) who stepped up from No.7, this time with an even better innings that saw the Fire home by two wickets.

“Once again,” Redmayne says, “we were able to win from a losing position.”

Joining Winfield-Hill this time in a 130-run stand was then 21-year-old Mikayla Wrigley, whose composed 56 from 72 balls belied her inexperience.

Wrigley, who had debuted a year earlier, was unlucky to have been dropped after making 32no on the opening WNCL weekend, but between then and the ACT games, the right-hander had blazed a record-breaking 250 from 172 balls for the Sunshine Coast in the Katherine Raymont Shield.

“The whole first half of the season, Mikayla was scoring runs for fun in our Brisbane competition,” Redmayne says. “The way she’d been batting at that point, it was like, ‘there’s no way she’s not scoring runs’.”

The new Heat signing was yet another member of the conveyor belt of pathways batting talent that has held Queensland in such good stead in recent times. In the next game against ACT, as Redmayne found form with a run-a-ball 105no, another young trio – Lucy Bourke, Charli Knott, and Ginger (all aged between 20 and 22 at the time) – each made important contributions before O’Neil (28no from 14 balls) iced a run chase of 253 with a massive 12 overs to spare.

“Coming through the pathways, I think there was one Under-19s tournament where now all the players, bar maybe one or two, are either contracted (to QC) or have had a contract,” Ginger says. “That shows how strong our system is, and maybe there was also a little purple patch of good young talent … it’s now on our shoulders a bit more to get the job done, rather than relying on some of the older girls.”

And so the Fire rolled into the Big Bash break sitting pretty atop the WNCL ladder, with four wins from four. Better still, according to Redmayne, there was room for considerable improvement.

“We hadn’t played our best cricket, but we had scrapped really well,” she says. “And then we had a horrific Big Bash season.”

* * *

For the first time in their history, Brisbane Heat didn’t win a game. Frustration from players and coaches grew throughout the tournament. Fingers were pointed. Heads dropped.

“The mood was low,” Redmayne says. “After that, I wasn’t really sure how the rest of the WNCL season was going to go.”

Which meant in the two-and-a-half weeks between the end of the WBBL and a two-match trip to Hobart for the resumption on the 50-over competition, the onus was on interim captain Redmayne and the other leaders within the group to raise morale.

“The main thing for me was just to make sure everyone was enjoying playing cricket again,” she adds. “By the end of a season where you haven’t won a game, it’s really hard to get out there and enjoy it.”

The Fire were without regular skipper Jonassen, who was undergoing shoulder surgery and would miss Queensland’s first four games of the new year. The legendary allrounder hadn’t been at her best through the opening half of the summer, but there was faith she would return as strong as ever.

The problem was, Jonassen had considerable company on the sideline. With Grace Harris, Lucy Hamilton and Knott taking part in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India, and Winfield-Hill away with the birth of her first child, Queensland headed to Hobart minus five first-choice players.

But there was one positive piece of selection news. Working in the Fire’s favour was the long-awaited return of Grace Parsons. Owing to injuries and mental health issues, the leg-spinner hadn’t played since their final defeat 10 months earlier, but her wicket-taking prowess was badly needed in the absence of Jonassen.

“That was such a big factor,” Redmayne says. “She’s an absolute weapon in the WNCL.”

Adding to that, Parsons’ status as a ‘vibes girl’ in the group offered just the sort of positive energy Dr Redmayne had prescribed for the group.

“You rarely see her out there not smiling,” she adds, “and the energy that she brought … when she got her first wicket, it was almost like it was her first wicket for Queensland again, we were all getting around her, and we were all really excited.”

In their first match, Tasmania sent Queensland in, perhaps hoping to capitalise on their inexperience; the visitors were fielding two debutants in Ruby Strange and Grace Collins. Laura Harris was also recalled for her first game since the season’s opening weekend.

Fresh off blasting 197 for the Sunshine Coast, Wrigley opened the batting and compiled a mature 88, mostly in partnership with Warwick product Bourke, who hit a career-high 85 from 91 balls in just her eighth match to get the Fire to 8-293.

And when Parsons took two wickets in two overs to trigger a Tassie top-order collapse of 5-48 in the space of 12 overs, the Queenslanders were marching towards five straight wins.

As much as the overall success, Redmayne’s leadership strategy was to extract as much joy as possible from the smaller moments.

“I was trying to focus on those little wins,” she says. “We had Bonnie Berry, Ruby Strange and Laura Harris all take their first wickets for Queensland, so we had plenty to celebrate.

“Lauren Winfield-Hill had just became a mother as well, we had Grace Parsons back and bowling well, so it was about embracing all of those things.”

Two days later, after opting to bat first, Redmayne’s high-class 125no (134) propelled the visitors to 8-287. Again Wrigley (35) and Bourke (30) were in the runs, and again Tasmania slumped in reply, and this time it was 30-year-old pace bowler Hancock – who had also hit a vital 39no in the match prior – who delivered with the ball, taking 4-42.

Overall, it had been a remarkable hit-and-run effort in Hobart by the young group, who banked another nine points.

“They’re probably the wins I’m most proud of,” Redmayne says. “To go over there, missing so many players through injury and WPL, and to pull off two wins – especially after their team (Hobart Hurricanes) had won the Big Bash and we hadn’t won a game – that was a pivotal moment in our season. It helped build the belief.”

* * *

When the tide turned, it turned quickly. Four defeats in as many matches – against South Australia and New South Wales – seemed a case of inexperience finally telling for the Queenslanders.

Batting first in three of those games, they were bowled out for 180, 194, and 188, with Wrigley’s 46 against the Breakers the high-water mark. Yet still the Fire fought.

“And I think we’ve been fighting really well since the new year,” Redmayne says. “We were still somewhat depleted in those games, and up against some admittedly very strong sides.”

Two of those matches ended in heartbreaking one-wicket defeats. In their second outing against SA in Brisbane, the visitors recovered from 9-155 to reach their target of 195.

When a similar scenario unfolded in Sydney a couple of weeks later to make it four straight losses, a lesser group might have been done for the year.

But reflecting now, Ginger, who took 10 wickets through that run of defeats, sees it as character defining – particularly the one-wicket loss at home to SA, where the Fire took 7-57 to surge back into the contest.

“That was a pretty tough one,” she says. “And when you get to the end of the season – when you’re desperate for wins – you do go back and think of those little moments, where one ball could put you straight in the final and take the pressure off.

“But even though we didn’t get the win, I thought it was a really great fightback, because AB (Field) second innings can be tough to defend and especially get middle-over wickets. But we had some good moments and good (bowling) partnerships to get them to nine down.

“I thought it was quite impressive how close we actually got, and (so was) that belief to not give up and just keep going, even when you’re back’s up against the wall.”

There were silver linings and lessons learned in Sydney, where the two matches against NSW were played at Cricket Central – the scene for Saturday’s final. Perhaps most importantly, in hitting her third century of the summer, Redmayne offered a blueprint for how the Fire might best tackle the threat of WNCL leading wicket-taker Lauren Cheatle.

The left-armer, at her most dangerous with the new ball, bowled a five-over spell, of which the left-handed Redmayne faced 27 balls, scoring 17 runs. From Cheatle’s other three deliveries, all to right-handers, she took two wickets.

And while the in-form quick dismissed Redmayne for a duck second time around, the Queenslander’s initial success spoke to a trend, and might also explain why the Fire have been experimenting with Jonassen at the top of the order: 24 of Cheatle’s 26 wickets this season have been right-handers, against whom she is striking every 21.6 deliveries. Her two dismissals of lefties have come from 109 deliveries (54.5).

And with NSW’s two opening bats, Tahlia Wilson and Katie Mack, comfortably their highest run scorers this season, the new-ball battles in both innings will be crucial.

“They’re two very, very good batters, but I think we’ve got a pretty good bowling attack,” says Ginger, who could well open the bowling with Berry or Hancock.

“As long as we’re diligent in our preparation and we execute better than them, then hopefully we’ll get the better of them.”

* * *

Queensland needed to win and win well in their final two games against Victoria to seal their place in Saturday’s final. That they took that pressure in their stride, cruising to a pair of comfortable victories (Parsons collected eight wickets) spoke volumes for a young group already big on finals experience.

The stars also seemed to be aligning. Twelve months earlier, on the eve of the corresponding decider, they had lost Georgia Voll to the WPL, compounding the absences of Jonassen and Grace Harris.

This time around, Jonassen has returned from shoulder surgery looking more like her old self. Against the Vics, she scored 110 runs from the top of the order for once out, and took four wickets. Alongside Parsons, her return gives the Fire a potent spin combination.

“I might be biased here, but ‘JJ’ (Jonassen) and Grace Parsons are probably the two best spinners in WNCL right now,” Ginger says. “It’s nice to have them take up 20 overs of an innings.”

And the return of Harris could be equally as important. The 67-time Australia rep looked fit and in ominous touch at AB Field against the Vics, stroking an effortless 58 from 50 balls then taking 2-14 in her first WNCL outing of the summer.

“She’s an incredibly underrated player in one-day cricket – I think she bats at such a great tempo and she’s going to be crucial for us in that middle-order role,” Redmayne says. “The last final she played for us, we won, so hopefully she can be our good luck charm.”

Redmayne, who took over as full-time captain this month when Jonassen stepped down from the role, believes the Fire’s campaign has been underpinned by a strength in adversity.

“I think we’ve had to deal with a lot this season – individually and as a group – and we’ve shown a lot of resilience to be in the position we are now,” she says. “I’m just really proud of everyone, from bouncing back from a (WBBL) season like that, to come out and be in the position to collect some silverware this weekend.”

The Fire squad flew out to Sydney from Brisbane early on Friday morning. There they will be hoping to not only right their wrongs of 2025, but break something of a hoodoo that has existed since the WNCL was established in 1996.

In 30 seasons, they have squared off with the Breakers in six deciders (either three-match finals series, or a single final) and finished runners-up every time.

Incidentally, it was the same scenario for Queensland’s Sheffield Shield team against the Blues. In 2021, it was a case of seventh time lucky for the Bulls.

“It’s no secret to say that New South Wales have been the best and most consistent team across this whole tournament, so they definitely are the team to beat,” Ginger says.

“We’re a team with lots of finals experience – sadly, not a lot of finals wins – but it’s nice to have the opportunity to give them a taste of their own medicine; they came to our home and won, and now hopefully we can go to their home ground and get a win.”

WNCL 2025-26 standings