Queensland crush WA to open WNCL account

Queensland have secured their first points of the WNCL season, crushing Western Australia by eight wickets at Allan Border Field.

After losing their opening two matches against NSW last week, the Fire responded in emphatic fashion with a bonus-point victory.

WA imploded to be bowled out for 81 after being sent in by home skipper Jess Jonassen.

Nicola Hancock got the ball rolling for Queensland with a beauty to bowl Chloe Piparo, but the majority of the wickets that followed could be put down to batter error rather than bowler brilliance.

Fresh off captaining Australia Under-19s in their recent tri-series, Lucy Hamilton picked up Maddy Darke and Bhavi Devchand in the space of two overs.

WA had slumped to 6-39 when Jonassen picked up the wickets of Lisa Griffith and Mathilda Carmichael a few overs later, both falling victim of misreading Jonassen’s flight.

But it was the run-out of former Fire batter Mikayla Hinkley that truly summed up the innings.

Facing Jonassen, Hinkley turned the ball off her hip for a single, but non-striker Carmichael hesitated, stopped and turned, leaving both batters at the bowler's end as Winfield-Hill underarmed the ball in to keeper Georgia Redmayne.

A 17-ball duck would not have been the debut Chloe Bartholomew would have hoped for, as she was the first of Charli Knott's three wickets.

In reply, Queensland wanted to ensure the bonus point was sown up early and Georgia Voll got the ball rolling with three fours in the second over of the innings.

Although the Fire did lose two wickets (both Redmayne and Knott for one), Voll was humming at the other and found the boundary 12 times in her unbeaten 61.

She was supportably beautifully by Jonassen (19no), as the pair saw the total reached after only 15.2 overs.