Greater Illawarra, which featured Allira Smith (Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens), Ella Dyball (Bomaderry), Sarah Wheeler (Ulladulla United) and Tara Rudd (Ulladulla United), opened their carnival with a loss against Newcastle.

After being sent in, Greater Illawarra posted 4/78 from their 20 overs – with Rudd (14 not out), Wheeler (10) and Smith (three) all batting well.

In reply, Newcastle reached the target (8/79) with one ball to spare, despite one wicket each from Dyball and Wheeler.

Greater Illawarra suffered the same fate in their second match, going down to Central Northern 1/109 to 7/96.

During the match, Rudd was the lone wicket taker, claiming 1/15 while also making 51 not out, from 57 balls, with the bat.

These two losses didn’t dampen the spirits of the Travis Burton coached side, as they chalked up their first win in round three against Western.

After restricting Western to 5/91, thanks to two wickets from Lily Savelli, Greater Illawarra chased down the target (4/92) in the 18^th over – with Rudd (26 not out) again starring with the willow.

This win put them into the fifth vs sixth showdown against North Coastal at Yulong Oval.

Greater Illawarra batted first, after being sent in, and totalled 6/126 from their 20 overs, with Rudd (15) again making double figures.

In response, 2/31 from Wheeler and 1/7 from Rudd, helped Greater Illawarra restrict their rivals to 7/125 – therefore securing a nail-biting one-run win.

During that innings, Smith made one catch and assisted on one run-out.

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