A century for captain Gaby Lewis, only eighth in the history of the competition, and their third, along with a 5-fer from Bhavi Devchand, helped the Scorchers secure consecutive Arachas Super Series 50-over-Cup titles with a 7-wicket to gain victory over the Typhoons at Pembroke. This cemented their 2021 double-winning campaign, a remarkable achievement.
It was very fitting that Lewis hit the winning runs and lifted the ball over the middle for four with the last ball of the game. She was the star with the bat. Her 103 runs came from 103 balls, including a whopping 16 fours.
The Typhoons got off to a solid start, Celeste Raack and Robyn Searle hitting 28 runs before Raack was held in front by Anna Kerrison in the round of 16. A few overs later, her opening partner Searle had joined her in the pavilion when Scorchers captain Gaby Lewis made an excellent dive to her left to grab a brilliant one-handed catch on the first slip.
Bhavi Dechand moved a lot with the ball, the right-arm center pacesetter was a constant threat and had 2 wickets for 16 runs after her first four overs. The Typhoons struggled to score runs and in the 15thth over when Ireland captain Laura Delany slashed in and was caught by Lewis.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and the Typhoons found themselves at 76-2 after 20 overs. Zimbabwe-born Australian Devchand took five wickets from her allotted 10 overs when she took the wicket from Louise Little.
Luckily for the Typhoons, they fought back well when Mary Waldron got in the middle, and she went on to hit a good 62 from 102 balls, including an excellent 57 partnership with Joanna Loughran, the only notable partnership in the innings .
The Scorchers excelled in the field, with Lewis and Shauna Kavanagh both notching two catches. They limited the Typhoons to just 165 on a pretty good batting field.
When Devchand and Lewis came out to bat in their response for the Scorchers, they were patient. They waited for their opportunities. It was over by the third when we saw the first boundary of the innings when Devchand edged one between wicket-keeper and the first slip.
Lewis hit one to the limit of the deep square leg to start their innings in the 6th over and from there the score was never in doubt.
56’s inaugural partnership ended in 13th over when Louise pinched Little Devchand up front with a nice delivery that turned into the right hander.
Christina Coulter Reilly (8), Shauna Kavanagh (7) and Sophie MacMahon (13) rotated the bat regularly so Captain Lewis could land their shots, and she did.
It wasn’t the best day in the field for the Typhoon, but Sophie Strickland made an excellent catch, stepping up mid-wicket and taking Coulter Reilly’s wicket in the 19th minuteth Above.
Lewis brought up her 50 in the 22nd over, beating Robyn Searle behind for four as she looked commanding in the crease. She decided when she was 25th over and scored 25 runs in 2 overs to go to 77.
It was only a matter of time before the century would come, and it came with the winning shot as Lewis lifted the ball over center for four to win the game.
GAME SUMMARY
Typhoons v Scorchers, Arachas Super 50 Cup, Pembroke, 3rd August 2022
- typhoons: 165 (45.3 overs; M. Waldron 62, J. Loughran 25; B. Devchand 5-33)
- scorers: 166-3 (32.1 overs; G. Lewis 103*, B. Devchand 22; L. Little 1-29)
Scorchers won by 7 wickets.
scorecard