Geraldton and Bunbury claim Women's Country Week Honours

Cricketers from all over Western Australia came to Perth to compete in Women’s Country Week over the long weekend, with 10 teams battling it out in warm conditions to gain bragging rights over their country counterparts.

Country Week is the biggest cricket carnival in the State and has been running since 1907 with clubs and associations from all regions always excited to be involved.

The coveted A Section was taken out by Geraldton, who defeated Bunbury in a thrilling Final at the WACA Ground on Monday.

Victory in the Women’s Final completed a dominant weekend for Geraldton, who also claimed the Senior Men’s A Section title a few days earlier.

Geraldton had many contributions throughout the week but were led superbly by batters Olivia Bidwell (158 runs at 52.67) and Lauren Newman (132 at 44), who both finished in the top five run-scorers across the four matches. Joanne Walker (5 wickets at 17.6) and Isabelle Macpherson (5 at 31.6) played a major role with the ball. 

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Geraldton got their innings off to a flying start thanks to an 87-run opening wicket partnership between Meg Spalding (43) and Ruth Vorster (46). 

Bunbury’s Lilly Finlay (3-40 off four) then produced an excellent middle-over burst to get her side back in the contest, taking the key wickets of Abby Green (12), Bidwell (2) and Lauren Newman (11) in quick succession.

A late flurry of boundaries from Geraldton saw them complete their 20 overs at 5-154, with Spalding and Vorster finishing as the top two scorers.

In reply, Bunbury got off to a solid start, with opener Emma Bresser (30) managing to find the boundary frequently in the early exchanges. 

Bresser combined with number three Molly Lincoln (15) for a 40-run partnership before A Section’s leading run scorer Hollie Perkin came to the crease.

Perkin, who compiled 127 runs without being dismissed in her three previous innings, carried on her fine form with another half-century (58), putting her side within touching distance of chasing down the 155-run target. 

But Geraldton managed to hold their nerve during the tense final overs, with Walker (1-16 off four) and Green (2-29 off four) bowling their team to an eight-run victory.

Senior Country Week Top Performers

Batting Aggregate
A Section – Hollie Perkin (Bunbury & Districts Cricket Association)– 185 runs at 185 
B Section – Jenna Harrington (Bunbury & Districts Cricket Association) – 186 at 62

Bowling Aggregate
A Section – Leah Hillyard (Peel Cricket Association) – 8 wickets at 17.25
B Section – Kylie Bremner (Geraldton Cricket Association) – 12 at 6.67

Competition Winners
A Section – Geraldton Cricket Association
B Section – Busselton Margaret River Cricket Association