WNCL: Monster ninth-wicket partnership steers Tasmania to come-from-behind victory over Western Australia

A monster ninth-wicket partnership has quashed Western Australia’s hopes of splitting its WNCL double-header with three-time reigning champions Tasmania.

Tailenders Hayley Silver-Holmes — who battled illness during the day — and Maisy Gibson combined for 59 runs to straighten up a wobbly chase and beat WA by one wicket.

Mikayla Hinkley, recruited from Queensland in the off-season, scored 62 in a controlled middle-order knock to push WA’s first-innings total to 215. It was chased down with eight balls to spare.

Captain Chloe Piparo, working with a bowling attack torn apart by injury and unavailability, turned to her big guns early, bowling out teen seamer Chloe Ainsworth and spinner Lilly Mills before the game went down to the wire.

That left Mathilda Carmichael to make a rare bowling appearance with just four runs left to defend. She took the wicket of Silver-Holmes who chipped a ball to cover, but bowled a wide to level the scores the very next ball.

Tasmania scored the winning runs off Bhavi Devchand’s next over.

WA are winless from the two matches ahead of back-to-back games against fellow title contenders Queensland.

And they are sweating on the fitness of two stars for those matches.

Reigning Zoe Goss medallist Amy Edgar missed Thursday’s clash with a minor strain of her left hamstring she picked up in Tuesday’s defeat.

WA staff are hopeful Edgar will be fit to face Queensland on October 3.

It can also be revealed fast bowler Taneale Peschel’s horror pre-season injury run has continued. She missed both games against Tasmania and is also in doubt for the matches with Queensland.

Silver-Holmes opened the bowling, delivered seven wides and left the ground ill after 1.1 overs.

But a mistimed pull shot from Piparo handed them an early breakthrough before Devchand hit 26 in her first game for WA for five years, Maddy Darke got to 39 and Carmichael reached 27 at almost a run-a-ball.

Hinkley was the only WA batter that cashed in a start and she held the middle-order together.