By Lachlan Onions
SOUTH EAST 5/165 d HAMILTON 9/120
THE South East claimed a dominant victory over the Hamilton Hurricanes in the Women’s Festival of Cricket on Sunday at Frew Park.
South East batted first and was under pressure from the outset after Liz Plew and Angela Donnelly were dismissed in the first two overs which meant the home side was in trouble at 2/8.
This brought Laura Chester and Chelsea Gabriel to the crease and the pair briefly reduced the pressure before the latter was dismissed for four runs.
At 3/34, the Hurricanes were well and truly on top but this quickly changed when Kathryn Vine joined Chester in the middle.
The duo combined for a 91-run partnership which shifted momentum back into the hosts’ favour.
Fresh off being named player of the season in the South East Women’s League, Chester continued her impressive run of form and punished Hamilton at every opportunity.
Chester backed up her unbeaten 72 in the grand final with another half century on Sunday.
It was boundaries galore with Vine and Chester out in the middle and the run-rate began to climb.
However, after a stunning individual performance, Chester was caught in the 19th over for 69 runs.
Fiona Young replaced Chester and after taking some time to get her eye in, followed suit and kept the runs ticking over alongside Vine.
The partnership lasted until the final over when Vine was dismissed after scoring an impressive 38 runs, while Young was unbeaten at the end of the innings and made a handy contribution of 23 runs.
With an imposing target set, the South East was comfortably in the box seat at the innings break.
Anna McGregor and Chester made their impact felt with the ball early and claimed the first two wickets for just three runs.
However, Widdicombe and Prendel fought back to restore some stability for Hamilton.
The South East’s strength continued to shine through and the hosts claimed vital wickets every time the visitors found themselves back in the game.
Chester claimed the key wicket of Prendel in the 16th over after she scored 47 runs to make it 4/76.
With the danger player, dismissed South East flexed its strength and wickets began to tumble.
The away side made it to 9/120 at the end of the overs and the South East claimed a strong win in its first game of the year.
McGregor and Chester both impressed with the ball and picked up three wickets each, while Alysha Coon, Sharnna Mansell and Smart all claimed one wicket each.
