Anika Learoyd starred for CA Gold in the three-day domestic match against CA Green with unbeaten knocks of 142 and 68.
Somerset-bound Anika Learoyd scores a combined 210 runs unbeaten in Cricket Australia three-day game
CA Gold won the toss and batted first at the Bankstown Oval in Sydney, but lost opener Katie Mack in just the third over. Her partner Maddy Darke and No.3 Courtney Webb together added 40 runs but fell in quick succession as CA Gold went down to 53-3.
Learoyd, who walked in at two down, dug deep at one end, but found little support from her teammates. No.8 Lucy Finn was the only other batter to score more than 25 runs, scoring a patient 129-ball 59, while also adding 135 runs with Learoyd, who was stranded on 142 as CA Gold were bowled out for 292.
After Green spinners Charli Knott and Jemma Barsby combined to take five wickets, Gold’s leg-spinner Frankie Nicklin returned figures of 4-18 to help her side take a 58-run lead. Hayley Silver-Holmes was the Green’s top-scorer with 53*, while Knott fell one short of a fifty after three wickets in the first innings.
Learoyd, who represents New South Wales in Australia’s domestic circuit and Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, held her side’s innings together for a second time in the match. Walking in at 2-24, the middle-order batter saw wickets tumble in quick succession at the other end, as CA Gold were soon reduced to 36-4 and 53-5.
However, Nos 7, 8 and 9, Sianna Ginger (25), Lucy Finn (17) and Hasrat Gill (32*) contributed crucial runs. The latter constructed an unbeaten 69-run partnership with Learoyd. CA Gold eventually declared at 197-7 with the NSW batter at 68*, setting CA Green a 256-run target. Their chase never got going and they were eventually dismissed for 107 with Nicklin picking up yet another four-wicket haul, as Gold won by 148 runs.
Learoyd signed for Somerset earlier this year and will be available for selection in the One-Day Cup and Vitality Blast from April 17 to July 17.
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