Tasmania has won its first Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) title, with Elyse Villani guiding the Tigers to a dominant nine-wicket win over South Australia.
- The Tigers chased down the victory target of 243
- Villani made an unbeaten 111 from 124 deliveries
- Opener Emma Manix-Geeves scored 104 not out
Overlooked for Australia's 50-over World Cup squad in New Zealand, Villani scored an unbeaten 111 in Sunday's final at Hobart's Bellerive Oval, while Emma Manix-Geeves also hit her first century with an unbeaten 104.
It came as the pair turned the season decider on its head, coming to the wicket 1-40 in pursuit of 8-242, before reaching the target with 14 balls to spare.
Perennial battlers in their first 10 years, the Tigers had only finished outside of the bottom two twice before last year.
But with a squad that included Villani, Molly Strano, Sarah Coyte, Naomi Stalenberg and Rachel Priest, they became the dominant team of this summer's competition.
The final loomed as their biggest challenge, with the Scorpions in control at 2-208 in the 45th over after they won the toss and batted first.
But when 17-year-old leg-spinner Amy Smith bowled Josie Dooley for 66 and ended a 113-run stand with Courtney Webb (88), the Tigers were able to claw their way back into the match.
Strano also took 3-39 in a tight spell late, while Smith finished with 3-33.
Then it was Villani and Manix-Geeves's time to shine.
The 21-year-old Manix-Geeves drove nicely through the covers, hitting eight boundaries in her 133-ball knock.
Villani was dominant through the offside, cutting and working the ball behind square.
She brought up the winning runs by cutting Brooke Harris to the boundary to spark large celebrations.
The win denied South Australia its second WNCL title, after lifting the trophy previously in 2015/16.
AAP