NSW Metro complete three-peat at Female U19 National Champs

New South Wales Metro have lifted the Betty Butcher trophy for the third year in a row after defeating Queensland by 82 runs in the final of the Female U19 National Championships.

Both teams were undefeated going into what was a repeat of last year's title clash. But it was NSW Metro who again proved their dominance at the level by bowling out Queensland for 178 after putting up a target of 261 in the 50-over game.

Olivia Callaghan's all-round contribution earned her the player of the match honours. Callaghan scored a half-century opening the batting for NSW Metro, before taking two wickets with her off-spin bowling.

The tournament, which is designed to provide a platform to the upcoming cricketing talent in the country to showcase their skills, had more riding on it this year as a final audition for next month's U19 World Cup.

Victoria Metro's Samara Dulvin grabbed the opportunity by notching up 238 runs and 15 wickets across eight rounds. The allrounder, who played for the Melbourne Renegades in the inaugural T20 Spring Challenge, was named the Player of the Tournament for the second year in a row.

Dulvin has been part of the Australia U19 set-up already, touring Sri Lanka for a tri-series last April, and has made her case for a call-up to the U19 World Cup squad with her strong showing at the National Championships.

South Australia's allrounder Eleanor Larosa was another stand-out performer, opening both the batting and bowling for the fourth-placed side across the T20 leg of the competition and finishing with a tally of 295 runs and seven wickets.

The left-armer, who is regarded is one of the most promising young fast bowling talents in the country, was named in the Team of the Tournament for her exploits with the bat, with a century against Tasmania in a one-day game and a highest score of 65no in the T20s.

Larosa's consistent performance at the domestic and Australian age group levels has set her on her way to potentially a second U19 World Cup, having been part of the Australian squad in 2023, albeit without getting a game.

Larosa's teammate Beth Worthley finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament, racking up 322 runs at an impressive average of 53.66. The duo stitched together a 255-run partnership against Tasmania – the highest for the second wicket in the tournament history – and Worthley remained not out on 153.

The opening bat was also the designated wicketkeeper in the Team of Tournament.

The Championships saw six centuries scored across the eight days, while the bowlers too had their share of individual highlights with three five-wicket hauls taken.

Queensland's Ruby Orchard was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with a tally of 17 scalps. The off-spinner took three key wickets in the semi-final to help her side bundle out NSW Country for 79 and advance to the final.

Orchard was among three players from the runners-up to be named on the Team of the Tournament along with top-order batter Lucinda Bourke (309 runs at 44.1) and off-spinner Lili Hamilton (14 wickets).

Champions NSW Metro were represented in the XI by the two most experienced names in their line-up in captain Ella Briscoe (268 runs at 44.7) and Kate Pelle (297 runs at 49.5). Briscoe and Pelle have both made Weber WBBL appearances, having played for Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers respectively.

The competition, which featured nine Australian state sides and an U23 team from Papua New Guinea, also had a number of other young stars in action who have impressed in the WBBL and WNCL, who also strengthened their case for World Cup selection with some bright performances.

Western Australia's Ines McKeon, who made an impressive debut for the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL this summer, scored a brilliant 65 not out from 37 balls in their round one game against Tasmania.

McKeon's Stars clubmate Hasrat Gill took 5-26 off 10 overs for Victoria Country with her leg-spin against WA and played a knock of 62 against the tournament champions NSW Metro.

Sydney Sixers' 15-year-old sensation Caoimhe Bray had remarkable returns of 2-10 from five overs in the third-place playoff against South Australia. However, she had a lean tournament with the bat.

Lily Bassingthwaighte, who was part of the Brisbane Heat set-up, made a quickfire 56 off 48 opening the batting for Queensland in the final.