The Western Warriors women’s under-18s got their summer off to the perfect start on Sunday, May 2 when they defeated the Caledonian Highlanders in two T20s at Strathmore CC.
Both squads were excited to be back together playing matches and in the first contest the home side batted first and put a good total on the board.
Opener Emma Halliwell (Falkland CC) got her side off to a solid start with 24 from 26 balls before she was run out.
Jenna Milton (Elgin CC) was second top scorer for the Highlanders with 15, like Halliwell she hit one four.
She was also run out though and it total there were four run outs in the innings with the Warriors fielders looking sharp.
The Highlanders managed to post 96/9 and they knew they had something decent to defend.
Dumfries CC duo Katy Anderson and Niamh Muir led the way with the ball for the Warriors, returning figures of 2-9 and 2-15 respectively.
A 51-run partnership between Anne Sturgess (Clydesdale CC) and Sophie Trickett (West of Scotland CC) set the Warriors up for a successful run chase.
They made 24 and 26 respectively in less than eight overs and despite the Highlanders bowlers battling back, the Warriors reached 98-4 in the final over the win by six wickets with three balls remaining.
The second match was interrupted by rain which set the Warriors a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) revised target of 68 from 16 overs batting second.
First up the Highlanders made 61-6 from their own 16 overs. Milton, batting at five, top scored with 16 which included one four before she fell to Muir.
Nayma Sheikh (East Kilbride CC/West of Scotland CC) led the way for the Warriors with 2-3 as four bowlers took wickets to keep their opponents’ total down.
Sturgess fell early in the Warriors reply as they chased 68, but Trickett and Sheikh shared an excellent 60-run partnership to see them home by nine wickets via DLS as they finished on 71-1 off 13.2 overs.
Ramzan Mohammed, one of the Warriors coaches, said: “As coaches we’re just pleased that the players had an opportunity to play some cricket after a very, very long break and they can now build on this.”
“The Highlanders played some good cricket, but it was pleasing that our players built key partnerships with the bat when they were needed.”
