There were standout players and tight finishes in the opening five rounds of the Premier Women’s First T20 competition.
2024/25 will be the ninth T20 tournament that takes place in the Women’s Premier Firsts season, with Carlton entering this year as the hunted after winning the 2024 flag.
It was the Blues first premiership in the women’s competition, claiming it having finished the regular season on top and after the Grand Final at Jubilee Park was rained off 12 overs in.
This season’s T20 tournament kicked off a month ago at Beaumaris Secondary College, with each side registering at least one win in the opening leg.
Three of the four games in the opening round of that leg were decided by less than 20 runs, with Geelong’s nine-run victory over Ringwood the smallest margin.
Geelong opening batter Jess Field and Rams opener Tiana Atkinson were the only batters that day to score fifties, with Chloe Sewell’s 3-31 a key factor in Geelong’s win.
In the other matchup that opening morning, reigning premiers Carlton defeated Essendon Maribyrnong Park by 12 runs.
The Blues had a wide spread of contributors with both bat and ball while Makinley Blows’ 65 wasn’t enough to help the Bombers over the line.
Dandenong and Melbourne followed the morning games with wins over Prahran and Plenty Valley that Sunday afternoon.
Like Carlton, Melbourne’s 16-run win over the Bats saw a wide spread of contributors whilst they conceded only 96 runs with ball in hand.
Meanwhile Dandenong’s seven-wicket win over Prahran was highlighted by Gaby Lewis 58 run knock along with Jessica Matin’s 2-15 off her four overs.
Rounds two and three took place the following weekend. Prahran was the only side to get two wins from two games, defeating Geelong by six wickets first up before winning by 10 runs against Plenty Valley.
The True Blues conceded a combined 225 runs in both their matches, with six players taking at least one wicket.
Elizabeth Cormack’s 28 off 18 also helped Prahran over the line against Geelong along with Sarnsiree Plant’s composed 36 run innings against the Bats.
Melbourne, Dandenong and Plenty Valley all won their Round 2 games against Essendon Maribyrnong Park, Carlton and Box Hill.
In Melbourne’s 14-run win over the Bombers, Rhiann O’Donnell accumulated 59 runs in the first innings before Hayleigh Brennan had the game’s best figures of 3-12.
Dandenong’s 17-run victory saw them restrict Carlton to 101 in 20 overs. Ishita Tiwari scored 42 off 27 to boost the Panthers total prior to Acacia Sutton producing game high figures of 2-22.
Plenty Valley captain Adelaide Campion and Rebeka Vandot picked up three wickets each to restrict the Mustangs to 103, with Nipuni Hansika also scoring a run-a-ball fifty that game.
Box Hill and Carlton would bounce back from losses in their previous games with wins over Essendon Maribyrnong Park, Geelong and Melbourne.
Blues middle-order batter Sienna Sims scored 61 in her side’s four-run win over Melbourne who went down despite Amelie O’Meara and Rhiann O’Donnell combining for 118 runs.
Yashoda Senarathne’s 40 runs was a difference maker in Box Hill’s 18-run victory over Geelong who had only three players get double digit runs in their innings.
Ringwood would also bounce back with their first triumph of the season against Essendon Maribyrnong Park.
Tegan Rule and Makinley Blows both starred with the bat, Blows scoring 48 before Rule’s 65 runs helped the Rams chase down the Bombers total of 148 with six wickets in hand.
A week later saw the final two rounds of the first leg take place. Box Hill was the only side to claim two from two that weekend, defeating last season’s Grand Finalists, Carlton and Prahran, by 23 runs and eight wickets respectively at Box Hill City Oval.
Opener’s Yashoda Senarathne and Zoe Griffiths featured prominently in both matches, with Senarathne acquiring 88 runs and Griffiths 57.
Emilia Wilson also picked up four wickets in those matches. Her figures against Carlton particularly stood out, acquiring 3-8 off three overs to help restrict the Blues to 68 runs.
Dandenong, Ringwood and Geelong also won their round four games against Plenty Valley, the True Blues and Melbourne.
Geelong opening bowler Aanliya Cheeran had figures of 3-18 in her four over spell, keeping Melbourne to just four runs in the final over.
Ringwood’s nine-wicket win over Prahran was led by Samara Dulvin and Una Raymond-Hoey unbroken 80-run partnership along with Erin Carroll’s 2-9 off four overs.
Navleen Sandhu and Ishita Tiwari had red ink innings against the Bats, Tiwari adding another 54 runs to her season tally and Sandhu scoring 36 off 39 in the Panthers six-wicket win.
Essendon Maribyrnong Park, Carlton and Melbourne all bounced back in round five with wins against Plenty Valley, Ringwood and Dandenong.
Madison Abers picked up 2-18 off her four overs to help the Bombers win their first game of the season by 16 runs. It came after Makinley Blows had another standout knock of 65 runs.
Melbourne’s six-wicket win over the Panthers was led by their bowling unit conceding only 96 runs before Rhiann O’Donnell scored 40 not out and Ella Hayward hit a handy 36 runs.
Carlton also kept Ringwood to 110 runs, with Katia Jomini acquiring three wickets. Erica Kershaw also scored a quickfire 42 runs off 25 balls.
As the one-day part of the Premier Women’s Firsts season commences, Box Hill, Melbourne, Dandenong and Carlton all sit equal top of the T20 ladder having won three games each.
The T20s are set to make a return on November 24th, with Princes Park, Aberfeldie Park and Beaumaris Secondary College once again set to host games that day.