Monday 8 March 2010

Melissa Bulow – with the aid of her raw, young Western Suburbs teammates - produced one of the most amazing performances in a Katherine Raymont Shield final to claim a three-wicket victory at Allan Border Field yesterday.

Bulow scored 146 not out in a team total of 7-195, overtaking Beenleigh/Logan’s 194 with three balls to spare.

The next highest score was just seven, although 15-year-old Casey Ryan’s six in a 46-run partnership for the seventh wicket, was vital.

It capped a wonderful weekend for the Wests club, having won the Women’s Twenty20 final on the last ball of the match the day before.

“It has been an amazing season,” admitted Wests coach and Queensland women’s cricket legend Katherine Raymont.

Despite losing opening bowler Jo Verrall to injury without playing a game and skipper Jodie Fields in January, Wests still finished six wins clear of Beenleigh/Logan on the premiership table in the one-day competition and four games in front in the Twenty20.

“The older girls were outstanding with the way they helped the younger ones through, and the young kids have achieved so much,” Raymont said.

That was clearly illustrated in the Twenty20 final, where Wests made 6-56 in a rain-reduced game and bowled out the Cutters for 54.

Ryan took 3-9 off her three overs to win the player of the match award, while fellow 15-year-old Grace McKellar took 2-4 after being under enormous pressure bowling the last over.

With Beenleigh/Logan needing seven to win and McKellar not having bowled to that point, she took a marvellous caught and bowled, and then bowled Beenleigh’s last bat on the final ball of the match when the opposition required three for victory.

There was just as much drama in the one-day final after Beenleigh/Logan had set a most competitive total.

Acting skipper Kirby Short took 3-36 and Ryan 3-41, before Bulow’s outstanding performance with the bat.

Wests lost their first wicket at 6, Bulow added 47 with No.3 Danielle Hollis, but then wickets fell regularly to be 5-104 and 6-136.

That’s when Ryan came to the crease to stay with Bulow and get within sight of victory.

“Casey staying out there with Mel was just what we needed,” Raymont said.

Bulow rode her luck with a number of chances going down in the field, but she kept attacking as the wickets tumbled around her.

She finished with 16 fours and one six, running plenty of twos and singles in the process.

However, she could not force a run off the final ball of the penultimate over and was at the non-striker’s end when Rebecca McCoombes took strike.

McCoombes had faced 17 dot balls to that stage and failed to score off the first two deliveries of the final over as the Beenleigh fielders crowded the circle.

She pulled the third ball over the top of the umbrella field to score two runs and ice a truly remarkable victory.