THE Country Cricket NSW Girls Under 19s Championships may have ended without a win for Western but the young side never backed down against their experienced opponents in Canberra.
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Western showed improvement across all four games over Wednesday and Thursday, giving it everything they had during the third place play-off as they went down in a seven wicket loss to Riverina.
Head coach of the Western NSW Female Cricket Academy, Andrew Litchfield, said the Western girls should keep their heads high.
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"The effort level was what you'd expect, and the under 19s improved with every game. We were probably just a couple of quality players short," he said.
"The girls showed plenty of intent and always tried hard, and they got close in a few of their matches.
"We had seven of the under 16s in the team and we're probably a bit low on numbers in that 19s group. The 16s and also our 13s have a lot of quality players coming through.
"Things look bright for our Western female program over the next few years."
It was a tough road throughout the competition for the developing Western 19s side.
They were on the receiving end of a 131-run opening stand from ACT Southern Districts duo Clare Levings (59 not out) and Caitlin Galeano (52) during Wednesday's opening game.
Western mustered up 6-68 in their pursuit of ACT's 1-143, with Ella Tilburg (22) and Amy Kreuzberger (21) faring best with the bat.
Things look bright for our Western female program over the next few years.
- Andrew Litchfield
In their second game Western couldn't break another big partnership, leading to Riverina scoring 5-132, though Chloe Stapleton's 2-9 from three overs was a highlight.
Western improved with the bat - led by Caitlin Keen (24), Stapleton (23) and Kreuzberger (18) - but were short of the mark with 7-96.
The last pool game against Greater Illawarra saw Western come closest to victory as they finished 19 runs adrift of the 3-108 target when their allotted overs were up.
Earlier in the week Western claimed the spoils in the under 16s tournament, ending their eight year search for a title in the younger age division.
Western claimed a satisfying revenge win over Riverina in the grand final after the result went the other way during the pool stages.
Litchfield said the finale was a great showcase of cricketing skills.
"The teams are pretty evenly matched and we probably let ourselves down in the field a bit in the first game against them," he said.
"But that final, well, I've been around junior women's cricket for a while now and that was one of the highest quality under 16s finals I've seen for a while now.
"It was low scoring but full of fabulous bowling that put a lot of pressure on the batters. Fortunately we snuck home chasing a small total.
Litchfield said the prevalence of Central West talent in the Women's Big Bash League can be a catalyst for driving up interest in the game.
"There's Emma Hughes from Dubbo, Lisa Griffith from Bathurst and Phoebe Litchfield from Orange and I know when they're back home they get down to the local nets to catch up with kids," he said.
"Having those individuals making their mark at a state and national level is great for country girls cricket."