Wellington pair Sara Darney and Sally Moylan have had the experience of a lifetime as part of the Aboriginal XI women’s team that toured England recently.
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The Aboriginal XI played four Twenty20 matches, winning one and going down in three others.
The Wellington duo were heavily involved as the Aboriginal team got a win against the National Cricket Conference and tried valiantly in losses to the powerful England Academy Women, Sussex and Surrey.
Darney opened the batting in three of four matches while Moylan proved a handy allrounder, taking a wicket and scoring 45 runs through the tour.
The Aboriginal XI mens and womens teams marked the 150th anniversary of the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England, the first Australian sporting team to travel overseas.
That team had to travel by ship, and played 47 games, spending 99 of the 126 days they were in England on the field. One player died from tuberculosis while on the tour.
The significance of the tour wasn’t lost on the players and they were given the chance to learn more about the team they were following during the experience.
On the field, Darney played a key role in the win against the NCC, making 17 off 15 balls, but more crucially she helped steady the ship after the early loss of fellow opener Hannah Darlington, allowing captain Ashleigh Gardner to get her eye in.
The skipper went on to make an unbeaten 129 as the Aboriginal XI posted 4-199.
Moylan then put a dent in the NCC’s hopes by bowling opener Jess Ward for 11 runs. The home team struggled to get into the match and finished on 5-62 off its 20 overs.
Prior to that match, the Aboriginal XI played Surrey at the Oval, in a game that doubled as a rematch of the 1868 tour opener.
Surrey made 6-149 off their 20 overs, while in the chase Darney was caught for a duck, and Moylan made 24 runs, the second top score for her side as they were dismissed for 113 on the final ball of the innings.
The match against Sussex proved another tough one. Chasing the home side’s target of 4-182, Darney made one and Moylan made 16 as part of a late stand but they were 8-103 after 20 overs.
The final match against the academy was a tough one with the hosts boasting four England players.
They set the Aboriginal XI a target of 5-228 and Darney tried to start well, making 11, but the English bowlers gained the ascendancy and restricted the Australians to 9-112, with Moylan making four.
