England Women Under 19s dominate Australian competition

The England women's U19 team has reached the semi-final of Australia's Under 19 Women's State Championship, convincingly winning all four of their matches in the group stage.

England defeated Tasmania by 8 wickets on 2nd January, followed by wins against Western Australia by 222 runs, Victoria by 5 wickets and South Australia by 6 wickets yesterday and will play New South Wales in the semi-final tomorrow (7th Jan).

Captain, Sally-Anne Briggs (Yorkshire) has been in spectacular batting form, amassing 244 runs in the four matches, including 114* against Western Australia. Her performances have been matched by Isa Guha (Berkshire), England's seam bowler who made her debut for the senior team last summer, who has taken 18 wickets, with an eight-wicket haul against WA.

As the Under 19 State Championship is a domestic competition, England will not be able to contest the Final but the competition provides some valuable match practice ahead of two One Day International matches against Australia U19s on 14th and 15th January.

This winter tour is a first for the England women's U19 team which has been restricted to playing in English summers until now. Due to increased funding for the women's game, the most talented players will have the chance to tour with England before making their debut in the senior squad.

Gill McConway, ECB Executive Director for Women's Cricket said "It's great to see our U19s performing so well and I'm delighted that the dedication of players and support staff is paying off. It's a competitive winter for both our U19s and senior England team against quality opposition, and this is the best possible start".