WNCL 2024 Team Of The Year

Australia’s Premier domestic women’s competition for 2023-24 has come to an end, and what a season it was. In the 28^th edition of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL, Tasmania for the third time in a row were crowned champions, in a special campaign with only two losses resulting in a three-peat of titles for the Tigers.

In a tightly contested season, only two wins separated 2^nd and 5^th, meaning every game counted. It was Queensland that were able to remain consistent throughout the tournament and set up a battle with Tasmania in the final.

With the Australian Women’s team doing so well internationally, it’s no surprise to see the domestic competition thriving as well. With young talent aplenty, and those with international experience also continuing to play well, the WNCL is undeniably strong, and a great springboard for Australian women that want to get to the highest level.

Tasmania’s Nicola Carey topped the run scorers with 696 @ 69.6 for the season, including a title-clinching 111* in the final. Victoria’s Meg Lanning showed no signs of slowing down, finishing second in runs for the season with 492 @ 82, while the ACT skipper Katie Mack rounded out the top three with 471 runs @ 47.1 to her name. The highest score of the season belonged to Ellyse Perry, who smashed 145 off 137 for Victoria against ACT Meteors.

As for the bowlers, it was the leg-spinners that dominated, with Queensland’s Grace Parsons topping the wicket-takers with 20 @ 19.9 for the season, closely followed by South Australia’s Amanda-Jade Wellington, who took 19 @ 24.47. The best bowling performance of the season came from Victoria’s Sophie Molineux, who took 6/45 off 9.5 overs against NSW.

The WNCL is an incredibly integral part of Australian cricket, providing opportunities for females to develop and show their talent, gain exposure, and push their case for national team selection.

Upon conclusion of the season, the following players have been voted by their peers into the ACA’s WNCL Team of the Year:

Maddy Darke, WA (WK)
Chloe Piparo, WA
Georgia Voll, QLD
Meg Lanning, VIC (C)
Nicola Carey, TAS
Katie Mack, ACT
Heather Graham, TAS
Sophie Molineux, VIC
Amanda-Jade Wellington, SA
Courtney Sippel, QLD
Grace Parsons, QLD
Molly Strano, TAS (12^th)

Queensland and Tasmania lead the way with three representatives each, while Victoria and Western Australia also had two, South Australia and ACT one each.

Chloe Piparo spoke of being included in this year’s Team of the Year saying, “When you’re recognised by your peers and fellow players, it’s always really exciting. It’s a good feeling and some external validation for all your hard work. While it’s nice to have some runs on the board, team success always comes first for me.”
It goes to show just how important being a team player is. Chloe’s results for the season speak for themselves.

Congratulations to those selected in this peer-voted team, in what is a fantastic achievement, and reward for incredible individual seasons.

The women’s game is in incredible shape, with these players, among many others, driving the game forward and performing superbly for their state.