Inaugural women’s T20 final decided in final over

A DRAMATIC conclusion to the inaugural GCA Women’s T20 grand final on Sunday saw Ocean Grove narrowly lose to Irrewarra in the last over of the match.

The two sides came together as winners of the North and South divisions, with little knowledge of the other side.

Yet they turned out to be evenly matched, as Irrewarra only passed Ocean Grove’s total with three balls remaing.

Ocean Grove coach James Nessel was magnanimous in defeat, saying that Irrewarra deserved the win in what was a fantastic match.

“It’s a good thing for the GCA to have such a close grand final.

“We were beaten by a better team on the day. They (Irrewarra) were terrific. They were very strong in the field and really kept the runs down. So, they’re much deserved champions.”

Ocean Grove won the toss and batted but found it difficult to score freely against Irrewarra’s attack. They finished their 20 overs with a total of 6/89.

Despite their modest total, Ocean Grove’s excellent bowling and fielding denied Irrewarra an easy chase.

Nessel said he was particularly pleased with the fighting spirit his team showed.

“It could have been a more comfortable win I guess for Irrewarra, that’s where my pride comes in with our team.”

Andrea Frankpitt, who was the leading wicket taker of the Women’s T20 South Division, led Ocean Grove’s defence, taking 2/19 in her four overs.

Jess Teague was also excellent, taking 1/11 in three overs.

Ocean Grove went through the Women’s T/20 South Division undefeated, scoring more runs and taking more wickets than any other team.

Their success was largely based around the depth in their squad. They had three batters in the top ten run-scorers in the league and four bowlers in the top ten wicket-tackers.

Nessel believed both the team and the competition would continue to grow.

“We’re going to still look at recruiting and maybe get two teams up for the competition next season.

“I know there’s quite a few Bellarine clubs that are looking at joining, which would be great. The more the merrier.

“I think the first year’s been a huge success.”