Captain Jemma Barsby played a crucial hand with the bat to help South Australia set a match-winning 280
South Australia have kept their WNCL final hopes alive with a win over the ACT Meteors but missed out on giving their chances a bonus point or net run rate boost with their 26-run victory margin.
Two days after rain had forced the sides to split points at Canberra’s EPC Solar Park, both teams were on a hunt for a big win to strengthen their position in the tight race to join New South Wales in the title clash.
But despite having the Meteors 4-73 in the chase of 280, South Australia couldn’t grab the opportunity to bowl them out to claim a more rewarding win as ACT’s Georgia Elwiss (58 off 79) and Grace Lyons (67 off 88) combined to pose a roadblock.
South Australia are now tied with second-placed Queensland on 27 points but are behind with a much inferior net run rate. They also face a stern challenge of taking points off the unbeaten NSW in their final two home-and-away games, while also needing other their results to fall in their favour.
On Tuesday morning, they opted to bat first with the hope to put a mammoth target on board but were instead delt a nightmarish start from senior ACT quick Zoe Cooke.
Emma de Broughe edged the first ball she faced to ‘keeper Lyons in the opening over and fellow opener Ellie Johnston (6 off 8) followed suit in Cooke’s next.
Maddie Penna (16 off 17) then holed out to mid-off in the seventh over as the visitors slumped to 3-37.
But the much-needed resistance came from Courtney Webb and Hollie Armitage, who combined for 104-run stand after the early damage.
Webb, who had three scores in the fifties and one forty in six innings since returning from the WBBL break, steadily moved towards another half-century.
But once that milestone was crossed and she had got a good feel of the conditions, the 26-year-old brought out the flashy shots in her arsenal to up the scoring rate.
But she once again fell short of converting her fifty into a big knock, hitting one straight back to legspinner Anesu Mushangwe (3-47) on 61(73).
Armitage fell a run short of her own half-century later in the same over as Mushangwe brought ACT back into the game by removing the set pair.
But the home side had to wait 21 overs before they got another wicket as South Australia captain Jemma Barsby (85 off 66) joined Bridget Patterson (47 off 65) to add to the total at a brisk rate.
That helped them go for a late flourish as 75 runs came in the last six overs with Barsby leading the assault with her two sixes and eight fours until she was dismissed in the final over by Cooke, who finished with a four-for, albeit an expensive one.
The Meteors top order failed to provide a stable start to their chase as wickets continue to tumble at regular intervals.
But English international Elwiss and youngster Lyons put a break on the parade by putting together a 123-run stand.
The duo had taken the total just under the 200-mark when Penna (3-34) removed both in quick succession.
A brisk cameo from Rachel Carroll (28 of 27) took the home side closer to the target but they eventually finished on 8-254.
Amanda-Jade Wellington, fresh from breaking the record for most wickets in WNCL history in the last game, added two more to her tally in her 100th game on Tuesday.
The competition will go into a two-week-long break before returning on 12 March, when Queensland will face Victoria and South Australia will host NSW in two all-important games in the finals race.
WNCL 2025-26 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Total points
PTS
1
NSW
10
10
0
0
0
1.134
0
4
44
2
QLD
10
6
4
0
0
0.072
0
3
27
3
SA
10
6
3
0
1
-0.138
0
1
27
4
WA
10
6
4
0
0
0.039
0
2
26
5
ACT
10
4
5
0
1
-0.114
0
1
19
6
TAS
12
3
9
0
0
0.002
0
3
15
7
VIC
10
0
10
0
0
-1.028
1
0
-1
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
PTS: Total points
