Breakers handed title in washed out final

Match abandoned New South Wales v South Australia
Scorecard

New South Wales did not want to win like this but they will celebrate regardless. The Breakers collected their tenth Women's National Cricket League title in 12 years after their home final against South Australia was washed out without a ball being bowled.

As the side that had won the most matches during the season - seven from eight games compared to South Australia's four - New South Wales were handed the trophy by default, with no reserve day allocated. Adding to the frustration for the Scorpions was the knowledge that had this happened in past years they could still have fought back as the contest was a best-of-three series. This summer it reverted to a single match.

Karen Rolton, the South Australia captain, said the result was a major let-down for the South Australians, who were searching for their first title since 1995. "All the girls are pretty disappointed to not even get out there and bowl a ball," Rolton said. "I guess it just shows you need to win as many games as you can during the season."

The teams both warmed up on the SCG between showers and the captains were about to toss when further rain set in and halted any thought of play. Alex Blackwell, the New South Wales vice-captain, said although it would have been preferable to win the normal way, the Breakers felt they had earned the title after suffering only one loss throughout the season.

But she said it was understandable that the decider had been cut down to one game. "That's in line with what we experience at World Cup level as well, so that's what we've got to get used to," Blackwell said. New South Wales have now been WNCL champions for the past three seasons and Victoria are the only other side to collect the prize since 1996-97.