NSW put the breaks on ACT

The NSW Breakers have drawn first blood in their weekend series against the ACT Meteors, winning the Women’s Twenty20 fixture at Manuka Oval today by 12 runs.

The Breakers did a terrific job in the field to defend their modest total of 138.

ACT made the ideal start to their chase with openers Leonie Coleman (29 from 23) and Laura Wright (22 from 29) putting on 49 in seven overs for the first wicket.

However the introduction of Player of the Match, Sharon Millanta (2-16), and Erin Osborne (0-18) put the breaks on the scoring rate, with Millanta dismissing both openers.

ACT skipper, Kris Britt (51 from 39 balls) did her best to keep her side in touch with the ballooning required run-rate. Her big hitting got the Meteors close, but not close enough. They batted out their 20 overs for 4-126.

“We had a lot of faith in our bowling attack and we thought we could defend 138. It was still quite a few runs per over for them and we always thought we were in with a chance,” said Sharon Millanta.

“Lisa (Sthalekar) read the game really well and we had fielders in all the right places. We shut them down really well.”

Earlier in the match the NSW Breakers sent into bat and bowled out for 138 in 19.3 overs.

They started brilliantly thanks to an attacking 32 from 23 balls from opener Alex Blackwell. However her dismissal with the score on 48 was followed the very next ball by Leah Poulton for 13.

From that point, NSW struggled to form meaningful partnerships. Lisa Sthalekar (20), Alyssa Healy (14), Sarah Coyte (14) and Erin Osborne (15) all got starts but did not go any further.

Today’s win takes the NSW Breakers to four points on the Women’s Domestic Twenty20 ladder, giving them a share of the competition lead with the ACT and Victoria.

NSW and the ACT resume their rivalry tomorrow (November 21) with the first of two 50 over Women’s National Cricket League matches at Manuka Oval, starting at 10am. The second match is on Sunday.

Full Scorecard available here.

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