History was made on Sunday when the MCC Women’s First XI took on Box Hill in the first ever Premier Women’s match on the MCG. It shaped as gripping clash with the Mustangs placed second on the ladder and our Demons one below them in third.
A dominant bowling and fielding performance set up an eventual five-wicket victory. A brace of wickets fell during the chase but fittingly, foundation player and captain/coach Teagan Parker was at the crease to help steer us home.Steady drizzle had plenty of eyes on the BOM but this cleared in time for usual 11.00am start but overcast conditions - and the fact that the deck had been under cover the previous day – convinced Parker to send Box Hill in. The decision paid dividends in the second over, with Indi Noble (1/18 off 5) having one of the openers caught behind.
After a direct-hit run out by Hasrat Gill, she was in the action almost immediately, taking a catch off Ella Stallwood (1/33 off 6). Erika Quinn then combined with Parker for another run out to have the Mustangs reeling at 4/46.
The Demons’ spin quintet (or do we call it a ‘spin-tet’?) then went to work and bowled with great control, getting regular breakthroughs and maintaining pressure. The wicket was taking some turn and the economy rate for each tweaker didn’t exceed three runs per over.
Ella Hayward (1/12 off 9) led the way, while Hasrat (1/13 off 5) and Limmy Thilakarathna (1/9 off 3) also got a wicket each. Erika Quinn (0/10 off 5) was stiff not to join them but Amy Yates (2/17 off 7.1) grabbed two poles, including the last wicket to fall – a thrilling catch by Zoe Samuel at short-leg! The wicket from Thilakarathna - calmly stumped by skipper Parker - brought about a particularly loud celebration as it was her first in the top grade.
Box Hill were all out for 138 in 44.1 overs.
Our chase began positively, with Jess Couser taking her fine form from the Twos into this game, pouncing on anything loose en route to a valuable 32 off 33 balls (4 x 4s). Yates went for 7 and Hayward’s leading edge saw her depart first ball. We’d lost 3/10 and the scoreboard looked a little wobbly at 4/77. Zoe Samuel’s dismissal for 11 off 13 balls took the score to 5/91 and the Mustangs had their tails up. Their spinners were also getting some grip and proving a handful.
In our favour was the relatively low total and a quick outfield which saw the boundary found on a regular basis. The experienced Parker (32 not out off 46, 5 x 4s) was joined by the emerging Amelie O’Meara (17 not out off 28, 3 x 4s) to see us over the line in 28.3 overs to complete a memorable victory.
District/Premier cricket was originally a feature of the summer schedule at the MCG and many matches of this sort have been played over the past 150 years, but this was the first since the 2009/10 season and a thrill for those involved.
It was not lost on the girls that they’d played a part in a significant moment in our Club’s history in what we hope was the first of many Premier matches on the hallowed turf.