Orla Prendergast’s bowling shines despite defeat to South East Stars
Despite finishing on the losing side, Orla Prendergast’s bowling against South East Stars was something special. The Western Storm all-rounder ended her four overs at Taunton having conceded just 12 runs, taking two wickets and even bowling a maiden.
Her bowling efforts in the match are her side’s most economical figures to date in the 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup, with the economy rate sitting at just three. In the three years Western Storm has been competing in this competition, only two other players for the side have conceded runs at a rate of less than three.
The Irish international was disappointed with the overall result, which saw the Storm fall just six runs short of their target of 127 after the Stars posted 126/6. However, she believes there are reasons to be optimistic heading into their future fixtures.
Speaking to the Sports Gazette after the game, Prendergast said: “[I am] very happy with how I bowled. To restrict a team like the Stars to 125 is definitely very positive for us on what was a good pitch.
“It was disappointing to let ourselves down there with the bat at the end, but [there are] a lot of positives to take from it and hopefully we can take those into the next game.”
Her bowling in the match is the second most economical four-over set out of the whole tournament, behind only Claudie Cooper’s effort against The Blaze. Both conceded only 12 runs from their 24 balls, with Prendergast second only due to the fact the former took three wickets compared to latter’s two. The fact she bowled a maiden is even more impressive, given how scarce they are in modern T20 cricket.
Only eight maidens have been bowled by seven bowlers in the 18 matches that have taken place so far, with 59 players bowling at least one over. This means that Prendergast can claim to be part of the 11.86% of Charlotte Edwards Cup bowlers this season to have achieved this feat.
On her bowling performance, Prendergast said: “I think it’s the most smooth and comfortable I felt bowling [so far this season]. [It was] nice to hit my straps a bit more and hopefully we can carry that on over the next few games.”
What made Prendergast’s bowling display so impressive were the timings of her wickets. The Irish international opened the bowling, first rolling her arm over in the second over of the match. The first six overs of a T20 are known as the powerplay, with fielding restrictions in place meaning only two players can be outside the 30-yard circle. In theory, this invites batters to score at a quicker rate given the restrictions make it easier to score boundaries.
South East Stars, Western Storm’s opponents in this fixture, had made the most of the powerplay in their previous four fixtures, scoring an average of just under 50 runs at a rate of 8.21 in the first six overs. Furthermore, in these five games, the Stars had lost an average of under two wickets in these overs, illustrating this team as one of the best in the tournament at making the most of the powerplay.
However, Prendergast more than rose to this challenge. Tasked with bowling three overs in the powerplay, the all-rounder was able to prevent the Stars batters from using the fielding restrictions to their advantage, ensuring the momentum was well and truly with the home side. It was not just stemming the flow of runs that Prendergast was able to do, as she was able to take the key wickets of captain Bryony Smith and Aylish Cranstone in successive overs. From her first three overs, she conceded only six runs in addition to her two wickets.
As a result, the Stars were limited to just 22 runs from the powerplay, the lowest score from the first six overs of the tournament so far, as well as losing three wickets. This was by far their lowest score of the powerplay in the 2023 edition and more than half of their average score. Three wickets was also much greater than the average number the away side lose in this stage of the game – Prendergast’s impact was clear.
On this, she said: “I think we started well as a whole, as a unit, and to restrict them to 125ish was a very solid first half. It felt like the complete performance with the ball.”
This performance should come as no surprise to anybody who followed the T20 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, where Prendergast’s performances were acknowledged with a place in the team of the tournament. Her economy rate of 6 was the lowest in the Irish squad, with 2023 proving to be a breakout year for the star.
She said: “It’s been a big year, definitely after the World Cup. The World Cup was great. Then to get asked to come over here, and play in the regional stuff over here is a massive opportunity for me, and I’ve absolutely loved it. It’s been a busy year.”
The crowds and playing at international venues such as Taunton are two of Prendergast’s highlights of her stint with the Storm, especially given the fact there is no such provision across the Irish Sea. She said: “It is different to back home in as far as we don’t have a home stadium back in Ireland, so playing in stadiums day in, day out over here is a massive positive to coming over and playing.”
So, what is next for her? “It’s a good question. I suppose just keep playing for Ireland, hopefully keep putting in performances on every tour we go on, and then any opportunity that comes from there, I’ll gladly take and hopefully just keep growing, and keep improving my game.”
Whatever is next for Prendergast will see her star continue to rise if she bowls the way she did against South East Stars: that is for certain.
