By ROY WARD
DANDENONG Lions won their first Agnes McDonnell Trophy since 2007 with a stirring win in the Victorian Women’s Cricket Association Essteele Premier Firsts grand final on Saturday.
Playing at the AH Butler Oval in Frankston, the Lions lost the toss and were put into the field by Box Hill. The Mustangs posted 8-191 in their 50 overs, leaving the Lions plenty to do with the bat.
Kate Dempsey made 73 for the Mustangs. Julie Hunter took 4-48 and Emma Gallagher 3-30 for the Lions.
Gallagher took the vital wicket of Mustangs captain and Australian star Meg Lanning for just six runs.
But veteran batsman Sarah Elliott became the anchor of the Lions’ chase, compiling 73 not out from 90 balls as the Lions chased down the total 5-192 with 46.5 overs.
Australian star Julie Hunter made 48 off 73 balls and Belinda de Feyter was 25 not out off 30 balls at the end.
Penelope Cleghorn took 2-15 for the Mustangs to be their best bowler.
Elliott, whose husband minded her five-month-old son Samuel during the innings, said the Lions’ win was a fantastic team effort.
“The fielding effort was great on a very good batting deck,” she said.
“We shared the wicket around and took some fantastic catches. Then in our innings we had batting partnerships all the way through.
“Having runs on the board can be very helpful in a grand final but we knew if one of the top order stayed in then we would be OK.”
Elliott praised Lions playing coach Kelly Applebee and the club’s committee for their work in developing and recruiting young players in the past few years.
“It was such a special win for the club,” Elliott said. “We haven’t been in finals for about five years and we finished fourth this year and only got our best team together during the finals.
“There was a lot of past players at the game on Saturday. These few years have been a rebuilding period for us.
“It’s been a tough year for us, numbers-wise, and we actually played short in a few games but got our best team in the park during the finals.”
Dandenong Lions are always keen to attract new players to the club. Anyone interested in playing can go to dandylionswcc.com.au for more information.
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