By Marcus Uhe
Park Oval witnessed history on Tuesday 24 October as a co-host of the inaugural round of the DDCA’s Senior Women’s T20 competition.
A party-like atmosphere enveloped Pultney Street, with music, a barbecue, and plenty of supporters swarming the ground on a sun-bathed yet blustery Tuesday evening to watch two Titans of the competition go head-to-head, in Buckley Ridges and Springvale South.
Among the notable spectators included City of Greater Dandenong Cr Angela Long, who addressed the crowd before the contest, along with Buckley Ridges president Sonny de Silva, new DDCA President Hilary Wijeratne, and former Sri Lankan international Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose daughter, Limansa Thilakarathna, batted at three for the home side.
A smattering of Premier Cricket talent ensured both sides were stocked with quality cricketers such as Melbourne Cricket Club captain Teagan Parker (Springvale South) and teammates Indigo Noble and Amy Yates (Buckley Ridges), and Dandenong’s Jessica Bohn (Buckley Ridges).
Parker’s Bloods were coached by Melbourne teammate Hayleigh Brennan, while the Bucks were led by former club champion Keith Jansz as one of many faces to return to the club to celebrate the launch of the competition.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Bloods kept Buckley Ridges to 6/139 batting first, with Bohn top-scoring on 57.
Some stellar bowling at the death from Bloods speedster Noble, who removed set batters in Bohn and Megen Wrigglesworth (25) in the final over to finish with 3/22 from her four overs, ensured the target would be within reach for the visitors when they padded-up.
Led by Parker, the Bloods made an excellent start to the chase before Thilakarathna’s leg spin turned the contest on its head.
Thilakarathna removed both openers in Parker (30) and Kamya Mishra (49) to break an ominous partnership as the responsibility fell back to Noble to guide her side through the remainder of the chase.
Noble’s batting partners in Rasandi Padmaperuma and Hiranthi Weerarathna were both caught off the bowling of Mannat Chanda as the chase fittingly came down to the final over of the match.
A single to Noble off the final ball of the innings tied the scores before a forensic examination of the scorecard located an undocumented extra that gave the Bloods the points.
With former Australian legends and Cricket Australia Hall of Fame inductees such as Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Mel Jones having donned the two blues at Buckley Ridges, the club is no stranger to producing and platforming female cricketers.
De Silva was proud of the occasion and his side’s participation in the competition.
“It was good that a lot of the girls commented after the game that they had not played in front of such a big crowd,” De Silva said.
“As a club, I’m very proud of the effort we actually put in and everyone that got around it.
“There was a lot of effort that went into getting this team organised.
“It was a great day for the club.”
The Women’s T20 competition features a further four sides; Parkfield, Noble Park/Monash University, Dandenong West/Tooradin and Parkmore/Bonbeach Sharks.
Parkmore/Bonbeach was far too strong for Dandenong West/Tooradin, keeping the combined Bulls/Seagulls outfit to just 6/57 in response to a strong first innings total of 3/145.
Likewise, a 109-run third wicket partnership between Linda Machin (81) and Sajani Wijekoon (45*) powered Noble Park/Monash University to an imposing 3/175, to which Parkfield responded with 5/69 from its 20.
Each side plays one match against every opponent to qualify for the top four and two knockout finals matches before the eventual grand final on Tuesday 12 December.
