Inverloch cap excellent season with LDCA women's Grand Final win

WOMEN'S cricket has brought many positives to the Leongatha and District Cricket Association, as evidenced by a strong crowd at Sunday's Grand Final in Koonwarra.

Inverloch claimed the title after Leongatha Town elected to forfeit the match when rain interrupted the Scorpions' run chase.

After choosing to bat, the Stingettes made 4/109 with opener Jackie Newman setting the tempo with 22 runs off 14 balls.

Karin Sluiter was Inverloch's next best with the willow, making 21 runs, while Extras top scored with 24 including a whopping 19 no balls.

Leongatha Town delivered some impressive work in the field, bowling a couple of Stingettes, catching one and effecting a run out with a deadeye dick throw from Kathryn Stewart.

Nat Challis led the way with the ball for the Scorpions, snaffling a wicket and conceding just eight runs off her four overs.

Olivia Marinou performed well with 1/5 off two overs and Gen Anderson was Leongatha Town's other wicket-taking bowler with 1/14 from two overs.

The Scorpions were to start their chase on 12 runs courtesy of having taken four wickets.

Under modified rules for the LDCA women's competition to encourage participation, each batting pair faces four overs, with wickets adding three runs to the bowling side's batting score rather than the batter being 'out' in the traditional sense.

Unfortunately light rain prevented the players returning to the field for Leongatha Town's innings.

The rules did not allow a resumption of action until the rain stopped, and with the delay stretching on Leongatha Town opted to concede the match rather than chase an adjusted target of 110 from just five overs.

The Duckworth Lewis method of calculating revised targets based on the number of overs lost is available at state and international level but is not currently in the rules of the LDCA.

"It's been the rules for years, in the men's too, that once you're off the ground you can't come back on until it stops raining," LDCA President and umpire John Schelling said.

He stressed that consideration of the slipperiness of the pitch is a player safety issue and a matter for the umpires to determine.

The LDCA does not have provision for a reserve day.

"We don't have a spare day anyway," Schelling remarked, adding that even had there been one it would not have come into effect given the game had started.

The Sentinel-Times enquired whether the LDCA is likely to consider any changes given the way the women's Grand Final panned out.

"We've got a President's meeting tomorrow night, so it'll come up in discussion and if someone's got a (proposed) change to the bylaws we'll take that to the annual meeting," Schelling responded.

The usual procedure is to gauge whether there is sufficient consensus for a particular idea to put it forward at the general meeting.

Schelling was delighted a good crowd turned out for the women's Grand Final and stressed that "Female cricket's made a huge difference to the clubs that have embraced it," noting it has fostered a family environment.

The LDCA's intention is for the women's competition rules to evolve over time moving towards the traditional, with a major focus on bringing younger female players through by creating as many junior opportunities as possible.

Some of the LDCA female players are already exposed to more traditional rules when competing in the Gippsland Cricket League.

A number are also taking it up to the blokes in C Grade competition.

Sunday's win left Inverloch with just one loss in an excellent season, that defeat coming at the hands of Grand Final adversary and second-placed Leongatha Town in Round 4.

Congratulations to Inverloch on a well-deserved premiership season.