GEELONG’S Premier Women suffered a heartbreaking grand final defeat to Melbourne at the weekend, going down by nine wickets at Shepley Oval.<\/p>\n
The Cats have now lost back-to-back grand finals, with an uncharacteristic top order collapse the catalyst in Saturday’s loss.<\/p>\n
In near-perfect conditions, Melbourne won the toss and sent Geelong into bat and made a commanding start, taking four wickets in the first four overs to have the Cats at a horrific 4\/1.<\/p>\n
Jess Field, Mia Perrin, Noura Abdul Qader and captain Stephanie Townsend were all dismissed for ducks, putting their side on the back foot early.<\/p>\n
From there, Geelong were able to steady, with Annie Taylor making a crucial unbeaten 74, but their early struggles led them to finish the innings all out for 130.<\/p>\n
Melbourne then went in to chase the Cats down and did so in seamless fashion, only losing one wicket on their way to securing the premiership-sealing victory in the 31st over.<\/p>\n
For the champions, Rhiann O’Donnell top scored with 59, whilst Kamya Mishra finished unbeaten\u00a0on 49.<\/p>\n
Geelong will be left wondering what could have been, after a dominant home and away season that saw them finish atop the ladder.<\/p>\n
Despite the shattering loss, the Cats were able to celebrate some success as their Seconds and Thirds both claimed premierships last weekend.<\/p>\n
Geelong’s Premier Men Thirds have progressed to the grand final and will face Melbourne this weekend, whilw the Seconds went down to Fitzroy Doncaster in a semi-final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GEELONG’S Premier Women suffered a heartbreaking grand final defeat to Melbourne at the weekend, going down by nine wickets at Shepley Oval. The Cats have now lost back-to-back grand finals, with an uncharacteristic top order collapse the catalyst in Saturday’s loss. In near-perfect conditions, Melbourne won the toss and sent Geelong into bat and made […]<\/p>\n