By Lachlan Onions
MIL LEL v NORTH SPORTSMAN’S
ROUND 3 of the South East Female Cricket League will see the first game played in Mount Gambier for the season.
The Tigers will meet Mil Lel at Frew Park on Sunday with the visitors eager to continue their strong start to the campaign.
North Sportsman’s enters this clash with two wins from two and hold top spot on the ladder, meanwhile, Mil Lel has yet to claim a victory.
Looking at the form of the two sides, the Tigers claimed a comfortable 39-run win against Bordertown in Round 1 and then backed it up with a 14-run win over Naracoorte.
Mil Lel on the other hand, suffered a 14-run defeat at the hands of Naracoorte and then lost by 52 runs to Bordertown last weekend.
However, it is not all doom and gloom for Mil Lel, with positives taken from the first two round of fixtures.
Victoria Radley will be crucial for Mil Lel and has scored the most runs in the competition with 72.
Radley has retired not out in both of her innings, she scored 24 off 30 balls against Naracoorte and then backed it up with a competition-high 48 runs off 31 deliveries.
Her unbeaten 48 was highlighted with four 4’s and four 6’s and helped her side reach a total of 3/108 batting first against Bordertown.
With the ball, Madeline Burley will be a key player to watch for Mil Lel after she took 3/10 in Round 1.
She will be tasked with bringing the form of Fiona Young and Laura Chester to a halt.
Young scored 23 not out in Round 1, while Chester scored 21 off 26 before she retired not out in Round 2.
Young will also look to continue her impressive form with the ball which saw her take 3/12 against Naracoorte.
Layla McPherson is another bowler who has caught the eye for North Sportsman’s after she claimed three wickets in her side’s clash with Bordertown in the season-opener.
The Tigers’ quality will likely prove too much for Mil Lel to handle and and North Sportsman’s will claim its third win of the season on Sunday.
NARACOORTE v BORDERTOWN
An interesting encounter is expected at Wortley Oval on Sunday.
Naracoorte and Bordertown have both suffered losses to North Sportsman’s but have claimed wins against Mil Lel.
The visitors posted the highest score of the season when they put 160 on the board in Round 2, while both of Naracoorte’s clashes have been low-scoring encounters.
It was a dominant performance with the bat from Bordertown against Mil Lel as the side had five players retire not out and lost just the one wicket on their way to 160 from the 20 overs.
Bordertown’s Hayley Twigden, Lily Kennett and Georgina Buick have all put in strong performances with the bat this season and will put Naracoorte’s bowlers to the test.
Twigden enters this weekend’s contest off the back of an unbeaten 34, which included six boundaries, while Kennett scored 28 runs in her last outing.
Buick has been in impressive form with 40 runs from her first two innings this year.
She has also proven to be handy with the ball after she took 1/12 off three overs against the Tigers in Round 1.
As for Naracoorte, Charli Schroder enters the game in good form after she took 3/11 off three overs including a maiden in her side’s loss to North Sportsman’s.
Anna McGregor has proven to be an economical bowler for Naracoorte and has conceded just 17 runs across her two spells with the ball this campaign at an economy rate of less than two runs an over.
This clash could go either way with one of the most economical bowling sides from the first two rounds taking on the best batting side but Bordertown will go in as slight favourites.
Both T20 games will start at 10am on Sunday.
