ANOTHER weekend, another round of Women’s Premier Firsts action, and among yesterday’s action we saw Melbourne survive a mighty scare against the Rams, and EMP pull off the upset of the season against Carlton.

Ringwood won the toss and batted first, and although openers Bhavisha Devchand and Olivia Henry put on a solid opening stance, it was Devchand and Una Raymond-Hoey who really got things going for the Rams. They put on a 142-run second wicket partnership to set the Rams up for a big score.

After Raymond-Hoey was dismissed though things started to go a bit downhill for the Rams. They still put a very competitive score on the board, but were bowled out for 233 with one ball left in their innings.

Devchand and Raymond-Hoey were the stars with the bat, making 116 and 64 respectively. Apart from them though, Henry was the only other Ram to make double figures. Without them things could have been very different for the Rams.

For the Dees, Anna O’Donnell was the star with the ball, taking 5/36 off her 9.5 overs. Rhiann O’Donnell, Ella Hayward, Erika Quinn and Stephanie Townsend each took one wicket.

In reply, Melbourne’s chase came down to the wire but the Dees were still able to get over the line. With two overs left they only needed 10 runs, but it was more than enough time as they reached the target with more than an over to spare. Hayward top scored with 89, and Amy Vine made 73.

For Ringwood Jordyn Doevelaar was the top wicket taker with two, while Erin Carroll and Chloe Blacker each took one.

While the Ringwood/Melbourne result was almost the upset of the season, the actual upset of the season was taking place at Princess Park.

Essendon Maribyrnong Park batted first, and scored 141 before Carlton bowled them out in the 39th over. Like many other teams last weekend, they just lost too many wickets far too cheaply. There were several zero run partnerships and the opening run stance of 46 was the best of the innings. Makinley Blows top scored with 41, and Milly Illingworth made 20.

For the Blues, skipper Adelaide Campion took three wickets, while Sara Kennedy and Ella Baulch took two.

Carlton’s innings with the bat did not get off to a very good start when Sophie Reid was dismissed hit wicket for only 20. That hit wicket could be seen as a sign of the innings to come, where only three batters made double figure scores, and the Blues were dismissed for 112. Baulch was the top scorer with 23, while Reid’s 20 was the second highest score.

For the Bombers, Samantha Bates was the top wicket taker with three, while Hannah Rooke and Blows took two each.

Down at Toorak Park, Box Hill won the toss and sent Prahran into bat.

Rhys McKenna and Paris Bowdler put on an impressive 103 run opening partnership, but after that things kind of fell apart. Bowdler and Samara Dulvin put on a 53 run partnership, but no one else could put together a partnership of more than roughly 20 runs.

Prahran finished on 7/196, which is still a competitive score but could have been much higher. Bowlder and McKenna top scored with 62 each, while Dulvin made 43.

For the Mustangs, Holly Spencer took 2/33 off her 10 overs, which included a whopping four maidens. Ashling O’Farrell also took two wickets, while skipper Zoe Griffiths took one.

For Box Hill, openers Spencer and Anna Lanning put on a solid 72 run opening stance before Spencer was bowled.

They then lost a few cheap wickets to find themselves 4/100. They then just kept losing wicket after wicket very cheaply to be all bowled out for 154.

For Prahran, Sophie Day took 3/27 off nine overs. Diya Redhu, Ellen Williams and Dulvin took two wickets, while McKenna took one.

In what must be starting to feel like a horrible sense of déjà vu for Plenty Valley, the Bats suffered another bonus point level loss on the weekend, this time at the hands of Dandenong.

Plenty Valley batted first, and were dismissed for a mere 86 in just over 32 overs. Extras outscored everyone in the Bats lineup, with Jasmine Nevins the top scorer of the actual batters with 23.

For Dandenong, Emma Gallagher and Chelsea Moscript each took three wickets, while Lucy Cripps took two and Poppy Gardner took one.

In the end Dandenong only need 12 overs to reach the target, while losing only the one wicket.

Kimberley Garth fell three runs short of a half century, while Jane Riley was the only Plenty Valley wicket taker.