Redmayne calls for ruthlessness, responsibility after stinging loss

Queensland captain Georgia Redmayne has rued the lack of partnerships in the middle order as her side slumped to a 21-run loss chasing New South Wales' under-par total of 215 in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) final.

While the Fire suffered early blows in the chase with the loss of newcomer Lucy Bourke and in-form Charli Knott, Redmayne stitched together a 106-run stand with Sianna Ginger, putting the Fire in the driver’s seat.

But after the allrounder's dismissal on 36, the skipper didn’t find any support from the rest of the XI, with no other batter making it to double digits.

"I feel like we were on top most of that game," Redmayne said after the loss.

"Me and Ginge got it down to maybe 80 odd to win. (It was) just a lack of partnerships after that, which really killed us through the middle.

"It was a real tough one to swallow, considering we feel like we have batters all the way down the order."

Redmayne was fighting a lone battle when she was run out on 97 in the most unfortunate fashion in the 41st over as the Fire's hopes burnt out. The left-hander was caught short of her crease at the non-striker’s end as the ball deflected off bowler Lauren Cheatle’s hand and took out the stumps.

While she says her focus was more on reducing the deficit rather than her own personal milestone, falling short on both counts did leave her hurting.

"I wasn't really watching my score that much. I was just watching how many runs we needed," she said.

"I think it was about 40-odd at that point. So, I knew if I got 25 of them, I just needed someone else to get 10 or 15.

"When you get out like that, you just feel like it's, it's maybe not meant to be."

The result was a second consecutive loss in the WNCL finals and a fifth-straight decider defeat for a Queensland side across women's competitions – with back-to-back runners-up finishes for the Brisbane Heat in the Weber WBBL and a loss in the final of the inaugural T20 Spring Challenge.

Reflecting on the performance, Redmayne called for more ruthlessness in big games from her side to cover the narrow gaps.

"In a final you don't want to leave it to anyone else. If you feel like you're in, you want to get it done yourself. You don't want to leave it to chance," she said, adding they needed to take more responsibility in crunch situations.

Playing at home at the Allan Border Field, Queensland’s bowlers were remarkable after NSW elected to bat, with only Anika Learoyd getting to a noteworthy score – 80 off 110 balls. But the batting unit, missing the likes of Georgia Voll, Grace Harris and Jess Jonassen to the Women's Premier League, was found wanting. 

While Redmayne admits that not being able to get over the line from a winning position ‘stings’, she is happy to see the side consistently lasting till the end of competitions.

"We keep getting knocked down, but we keep coming back every year," she said.

“We don't have the silverware we deserve yet for a team that's been so consistent, and I feel like we're consistently bringing new players through."

The likes of Knott, Ginger and Grace Parsons are a testament to that sentiment.

While she did not get going in the final, Knott finished amongst the leading run-scorers of the tournament with a tally of 556.

Ginger impressed with her growth with both bat and ball, earning gushing praise from her skipper.

"I feel like she's got everything – she can bowl, she can bowl with a new ball, she can bowl later on, she can swing the ball. She's an absolute athlete in the field. She's the quickest in our team,” Redmayne said of the 19-year-old, before complimenting her on the way she batted in their partnership on Sunday.

Twenty-one-year-old Parsons was another standout performer on the day with figures of 3-29 off 10 overs. After finishing as the leading wicket taker in the previous season, the leg-spinner only got five games this year as she battled multiple injuries but made the most of those, ending with 11 scalps.

Redmayne might say that she encouraged the youngster to not care about the runs being scored off her and aim for wickets, but her three maiden overs in the title clash suggest that she can squeeze the opposition on both fronts.

"It's such value having a leg-spinner with the amount of control she has," Redmayne said.

"She's worked really hard with her back this year. She's been in and out of the team, and I thought, having not played for a while, the way that she bowled in the final today, she was our best bowler."

WNCL 2024-25 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Total points PTS
1 Queensland Fire QLD	12	8	4	0	0	0.952	0.5	4	35.5
2 NSW Women NSW	12	8	4	0	0	0.343	0	1	33
3 Tasmanian Tigers Women TAS	12	7	5	0	0	0.085	0	3	31
4 South Australia Women SA	12	7	5	0	0	0.405	0	2	30
5 Victoria Women VIC	12	6	6	0	0	-0.288	0	1	25
6 ACT Meteors ACT	12	3	9	0	0	-0.863	0	2	14
7 Western Australia Women WA	12	3	9	0	0	-0.541	0	1	13

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

PTS: Total points