Australia news – Anika Learoyd shines in Green vs Gold contest with over 200 runs

Gold 292 (Learoyd 142*, Finn 59, Knott 3-58) and 197 for 7 dec (Learoyd 68*, Silver-Holmes 3-18) beat Green 234 (Silver-Holmes 53*, Nicklin 4-18, Ginger 3-21) and 107 (Nicklin 4-26, Mills 3-16) by 148 runs

NSW batter Anika Learoyd produced the standout performance of the three-day Green vs Gold match in Sydney which pitted together emerging and established domestic players in a red-ball contest.

Learoyd, who has previously represented Australia A, made 210 runs across the match for the Gold side without being dismissed – an unbeaten 142 from 176 balls in the first innings followed by 68 not out in the second. In the first innings, Learoyd added 145 for the seventh wicket with 19-year Lucy Finn, an NSW team-mate, to lift Gold from 112 for 6.

The other notable contribution came from NSW offspinner Frankie Nicklin, who claimed eight wickets in the match, as Gold secured a 148-run victory by bowling Green out for 107 on the final day. Nicklin took 4 for 18 in the first innings, and followed that with 4 for 26 on the last day.

Nicklin’s first-innings haul had earned Gold a 58-run lead, which would have been much more if not for a final-wicket stand of 64 between Hayley Silver-Holmes (53 not out) and Sophie Day (28).

Gold then slid to 53 for 5 in their second innings before recovering on the final morning as Learoyd continued her outstanding game. An unbroken stand of 69 with Hasrat Gill set up the declaration, which left a target of 256 in 60 overs for Green.

Nicklin soon got to work on the top order, claiming the wickets of Emma de Broughe, Charli Knott and Claire Moore as the chase fell to 36 for 4. Fellow offspinner Lilly Mills then went through the middle order with three wickets.

The match also marked the return to action of fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck for the first time since October 2024. She got through 12 overs – six in each innings – having struck in just her second over of the game on the day it was confirmed she had lost her CA central contract.

However, national selector Shawn Flegler offered words of encouragement that if Vlaeminck could stay fit over the winter and through next season, she would remain in Australia contention.

“We’ve had some really good chats with her over the last couple of years, but even just as recently as [Tuesday] night, just making sure that she’s still got the full support of us,” Flegler said earlier in the week.

“Once she’s back playing a lot more – so obviously the three-day game was the start of it – but she was looking to try and get some off-season games as well overseas, if she could, and then hopefully she gets back into a full season of cricket. But when she’s back playing, she’s going to be available for selection, no doubt.”

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