LAST weekend saw Victoria keep its faint hopes of a WNCL Final berth alive with a six-wicket win over Queensland.

After a slow start, Queensland eventually made 167 all-out, before Victoria reached that target with over 12 overs to spare.

One of the biggest reasons Victoria was able to restrict Queensland to such a low total was spinner Ella Hayward.

Hayward is someone who has flown under the radar at times in recent seasons, but she certainly showed what she is capable of last Sunday, picking up a career best 6/31 from her 10 overs.

She did not take long to claim her first wicket, dismissing Georgia Voll with the penultimate ball of her first over. After opening the over with a four, she then bowled three dots before the wicket ball, which Voll flicked up right into the hands of Sasha Moloney who was fielding close.

Her next wicket came about five overs later, when Georgia Redmayne guided the ball back into the slips cordon where Sophie Reid was fielding, and the Victorian took one of the catches of the season as she stretched her arm out backwards and dived to take it one-handed.

Hayward did not have to wait too long for her third wicket, which came in the same over as her second. After seeming to need a moment to correct her line after having to switch from bowling to the left-handed Redmayne, to the right-handed Sianna Ginger, she got the ball to spin the other direction late, which caused Ginger to chop the ball back onto her stumps. This saw Queensland reeling at 3/34 in only the eighth over.

Hayward returned later in the innings to continue her destructive spell. Her next spell started in the 30th over, with Queensland 5/138 and Charli Knott starting to do some damage with the bat. Hayward quickly put an end to that with a straight ball Knott chipped straight back to her to glove an easy caught and bowled.

About eight overs later was when Hayward would next strike. In the time between Hayward’s fourth and fifth wickets, Queensland had lost 1/21 and was really into the tail end of its batting lineup.

Nicola Hancock was Hayward’s next victim, after she hit the ball down the ground and straight into the hands of Rhys Mckenna at mid-on.

Three balls later, Hayward struck again. After an unsuccessful appeal for an lbw the ball before, She then skittled straight through Lilly Bassingthwaighte with a perfectly lined up ball.

Her wicket taking exploits were not limited to her bowling spell though, as in the very next over she caused a runout to pick up Queensland’s final wicket and send Lilli Hamilton back to the pavilion on a diamond duck.