The Lend Lease Breakers will be looking to continue their undefeated start to the season when they take on the Victorian Spirit in two T20 matches, and a 50 over fixture, at Blacktown International Sportspark, starting on Friday (2 November).
Selectors have named an unchanged line-up to the squad that took on the ACT Meteors last weekend, for the top of the table clash in both forms of the competition. There’s plenty to play for as NSW and Victoria will clash for the first time this season since meeting in both the WNCL and WNCL T20 finals in 2010/11. That time around, the Lend Lease Breakers missed out on claiming the Twenty20 title by four runs before being victorious in the 50-over format.
“Victoria are the 2010/11 T20 champs. It was a close result last year and one we are looking to reverse” Breakers Coach Neil McDonald said. “It’s an important round for the girls with this weekend being the top clash of the year. Each ball will be exciting with two very good teams in form. It will be a good contest that the girls are looking forward to”.
“The Lend Lease Breakers are looking to continue to raise the bar. We’ve been working on all areas of our game, including which areas we are looking to improve, and I’m sure the girls will be up for the challenge. It’s also an important round for the girls with the chance to press claims for an International call up” McDonald commented.
The match will be significant for both teams with plenty of rivalry between them. The Lend Lease Breakers will be out for revenge, looking to gain victories over their southern counterparts in the T20 format. Whereas, for Victoria, their former captain Rachael Haynes lining up for NSW will provide them with plenty of motivation to win.
McDonald realises the importance of the match, “If we win both formats, it puts a buffer between us and the rest, and gives us that bit of breathing space. However, we are not solely focused on that, good wins against Victoria will not only be good for the competition and our standing in the points table, it will give us the momentum we need to charge into the finals”
The full Lend Lease Breakers squad is (club/regions in brackets):
Alex Blackwell (Captain – Universities/Riverina)
Erin Osborne (Vice Captain – St George-Sutherland/Central North)
Sarah Coyte (Campbelltown-Camden)
Rachael Haynes (Universities)
Alyssa Healy (Sydney)
Claire Koski (Campbelltown-Camden)
Sharon Millanta (Bankstown Sports)
Ellyse Perry (Sydney)
Leah Poulton (St George-Sutherland/Newcastle)
Angela Reakes (Sydney/North Coast)
Lisa Sthalekar (Gordon)
Keeghan Tucker (Campbelltown-Camden/Western)
The Lend Lease Breakers and Victoria Spirit begin their clash at Blacktown International Sportspark with a T20 fixture this Friday (December 2) at 3pm followed by a 50 over match on Saturday (December 3) at 10am. The last Twenty20 match will be played on Sunday morning (December 4) at 10am.
