Bowler’s paradise sees Fire burn Meteors
SOME superb bowling paired with a star opening performance helped Queensland pick up a three-wicket win over the ACT.
The Fire may have cut it fine when it come to their wickets lost tally, but they still reached the target of 153 in less than 21 overs.
The fact that the Meteors found themselves at 1/9 after only two overs really was a sign of how their innings would go. They then fell to 2/11, then 3/30 all within the first 10 overs of the innings. Things did not really improve from there, with a couple of partnerships in the mid 30s really all there was to smile about.
Katie Mack tried to provide some resistance in the middle order with a solid 60, but Zoe Cooke was the only other batter to get any kind of start, and she only made 24.
Things could have been even worse for the Meteors if Queensland had bowled straight, with the Fire bowling 11 wides in an extras tally of 19.
Meanwhile for Queensland the wicket taking duties were shared quite evenly, with Lucy Hamilton, Sianna Ginger, Charli Knott and Jess Jonassen all picking up two wickets each.
Queensland’s start was better than the ACT’s had been, but they still found themselves at 1/23 part way through the fourth over.
Although the Fire did lose wickets fairly regularly, it was not as frequently as the Meteors had, which allowed the visitors to build better partnerships and stability.
Ultimately the tally was just too low to provide much of a challenge for the Fire, who reached the target with more than half of their possible overs spare.
Lauren Winfield-Hill was the best of Queensland’s batters with 43, while Laura Harris made 26.
Meanwhile for the Meteors Anesu Mushangwe was the best of the bowlers, picking up a trio of wickets.