Red-hot Georgia to scorch final rivals
SUNSHINE Coast Scorchers, first-timers in the Katherine Raymont Shield, can be excused for having Georgia on their mind – Georgia Redmayne, that is.
Redmayne looms as a potential matchwinner for the favoured Gold Coast Dolphins when the state’s premier women’s competition has its grand final at Bill Pippen Oval on Sunday at 10am.
Her return following Queensland Fire duties is a huge boost to the minor premiers,
who have faltered at this stage in each of the past two seasons.
And the Scorchers know all about her destructive powers, having been on the wrong end of a blistering unbeaten 77 off 46 balls when the sides met in the regular season.
“We have got a bit of experience in the team to go with several really good young girls coming through,” said Redmayne, 27, the one addition to the squad which achieved last weekend’s semifinal win over Ipswich.
State outings this month
already have brought her scores of 121 against Western Australia and an unbeaten 90 against Tasmania.
The left-hand batter from Alstonville regards fellow NSW north coaster Adam Gilchrist as an early role model. Adam’s father Stan and Georgia’s dad Richard are two of the coaches she credits with setting her on the right path in a career which has included NSW, Tasmania and Queensland state representation, and she’s also a six-year WBBL veteran now starring with Brisbane Heat.
In her third season with the Gold Coast club, juggling the sporting life and work balance – she is a doctor at Tweed Hospital – Redmayne has slugged 878 runs at 73.17 this summer, with two hundreds and half a dozen fifties, all at better than a run a minute and a strike rate of 150.1.
With the Gabba and Allan Border Field unavailable because of late-season scheduling, the Dolphins understandably are happy but not complacent about the allocation of the grand final to their home ground.
“We have won eight out of 10 matches there this season, so hopefully we can make Sunday a day to remember,” coach Garry Lovett said.
The occasion has added significance with the unveiling of a $750,000 facilities upgrade which places Kerrydale in Cricket Australia’s Tier 2 category, with the promise of an increased allocation of representative matches.
Club patron Ros Bates, MP, and councillor Hermann Vorster will be in attendance along with Queensland Cricket board members.