WE have come to the end of yet another Victorian Women’s Premier Cricket season, full of highs and lows. Now that the season has finished, let us take a look back at how the eight clubs went across the whole season, and how things went since their mid-season report cards.

Today we look at Carlton, who were the runners up this Women’s 1sts season.

The 2021/22 season will always go down as a historic one for Carlton, despite how it ultimately turned out.

After the Blues lost only one of their first four matches post the Christmas break, they became the second team to secure their place in the finals, and in doing so secured a place in the Women’s Firsts finals for the first time since they were promoted.

They did have a stumble in the final fortnight of the season, losing to Prahran and Ringwood back to back. Then came the finals.

First up, the semi-final. They were due to face Ringwood again in the semi-final, but after a lot of rain in the week leading up to the match, Carlton’s ground was still too wet to play on and the match was washed out.

There was no reserve day for the semi-finals, so as the higher ranked team after the semi-finals Carlton got to progress and Ringwood did not, which ensured Carlton made its first ever Women’s Firsts Grand Final too.

Unfortunately for the Blues, this is where the fairytale ended. They came up against the dominant Melbourne, and in the end they were unable to get over the top of them.

Top performers

From a batting perspective, Sophie Reid came out on top, with 484 runs across the season at an average of 37.23. She made 50 twice and one century, with her high score being 110.

She developed quite the dangerous partnership at the top of the order with Cailin Green, who with the second highest number of runs for the season at 444. Her average for the season was 37, and she made three 50s, with a top score of 66. Rounding out the top five was Nipuni Hansika, Eve Sheehan and Kira Grace.

In terms of the bowlers, it was Madison Albers who stood tall. She took 25 wickets across the season with an economy rate off 3.67. Her best single game figures were 4/22. Second on the list was Green, who took 17 wickets across the season at an economy rate of 4.07. Her best figures in a single game were 5/40. Rounding out the top five was Rebeka Vandort, Sara Kennedy and the skipper Adelaide Campion.

Where to from here?

There is a lot to be pleased about from this season for Carlton faithful. They made the finals and the Grand Final for the first time, and with many of their best players still fairly young, there is nothing to suggest they can’t reach that mark again next season.