The Spotswood Wolves took on Mambourin at Galvin Park in our final game before the Christmas break. Due to a mixture of injuries and unavailabilities we had only 8 players but the enthusiasm was high.

Mambourin won the toss and elected to bowl first. The sisters McDevitt started us off steadily. It was great to watch their proactive running between the wickets. After 5ov, we were 1/22 and a platform was set.

Unfortunately we suffered yet another injury setback with Michelle Gjoni pulling a quad running a two, after a glorious pull shot. With torn muscles, pulled muscles and pneumonia decimating our ranks, we are now officially the Wounded Wolves.

We lost 2 more quick wickets before Shaz and Amanda came to the crease and provided some much needed stability.

The partnership between Amanda and Shaz was the highlight of the game. Two ladies who bleed green-and-gold were charging between the wickets on a hot day like young kids, keeping us in the contest. A 27 run partnership in 4 overs took us to the halfway mark at 3-50.

Retirements and wickets changed the momentum of the game a little and Amanda and Rose had to bat 6ov to give us something to bowl at. They put on 15 in 3ov when Rose was unluckily dismissed for 6 and interestingly, for the first time this season we had a ‘Last Woman Standing’ situation.

Captain Amanda was left to bat and run all on her own and Mambourin couldn’t stop her.

The scoreboard will say Amanda made 29* off 45 balls. But those numbers don’t do justice to the innings. Battling a groin strain and asthma, our Skipper soldiered on and took us to 6-89 and gave us some hope. It was resilience and leadership. It was Spotty spirit on display. All from someone who has never played cricket before this season. Magnificent.

So we had 90 to defend off 20 overs with only 8 very tired fielders. We needed an early breakthrough and Rosie Beckett answered the call with a caught and bowled off a sharp bouncer. 1/8.

Josie Paterson took her first wicket for Spotswood and Sam McDevitt took her first catch behind the stumps to have Mambourin 2/19.

We fought hard in the first half of the innings and went to the break at 2/46 and the game poised evenly.

Unfortunately, Mambourin had two experienced and talented young girls at the crease who took the game away from us in the second half, but Rose kept fighting and took another wicket before Mambourin passed our score. All the girls charged in and bowled the full 20ov to Mambourin.

Special mention to Josie Paterson who donned the gauntlets and kept wickets for the first time ever. Brilliant work! Enjoy the sore legs.

Whilst results haven’t gone our way, it has been a fantastic first half of the year. I couldn’t be prouder of the resilience, spirit and progress of our Ladies.

Standout batters:
Amanda Beckett - 29* off 45 balls
Stephanie McDevitt - 7 off 21 balls
Rose Beckett - 6 off 16 balls
Sharon Schwarz - 5 off 30 balls

Standout bowlers:
Rose Beckett - 4ov 2/8
Josie Patterson - 2ov 0/10
Stacey Ansell - 3ov 0/13

Thank you to the many volunteers, Luke Jamieson, Chris Beckett and Jakson Knight for all the support in the first half of the season.

We’ll recover from our many injuries, get our full team on the park and come back bigger and better next year. Watch this space. 2026 is the Year of the Wolf. 🔰🐺🔰