Star spinner Emma King has revealed the Ruth Preddy Cup is the title she and her Western Australian teammates most want to win ahead of the WNCL Final on Sunday.
WA will take on the NSW Breakers in the 50-over decider at North Sydney Oval after finishing second on the ladder with six wins from eight matches across the season.
And while the Breakers are shooting for a 21st WNCL title in just 24 years, for WA it would be a drought-breaking effort to lift the Cup.
WA won its only domestic title in the 1986-87 season.
“It’s about 30 years since we won it but we’ve only been in two finals in 20 years so it’s a big deal for us,” King told emageogroup.com.
“We haven’t really spoken about it as a group yet so I think we’re trying to keep a lid on it until the day comes.
“As long as I’ve ever been around the system, this is the one that we all want to win.
“It’s what we train for, it’s what we strive for as a team. Definitely the most important thing for most of us is to try and get our hands on Ruth. It would be awesome to come away with the win if we can.”
King said while they would take confidence from their win over NSW on their home turf to finish the season, she expected a different team this time around.
“There’s a reason why they’ve (won so many titles), they’ve been the best obviously – the team that everyone is chasing each year – so hopefully we can get one back for WA,” King said.
“It definitely helps (that we won last week) but I think we’d be silly if we thought that was how they were going to play for the grand final. I think they tried a few things that they perhaps won’t do this time around. I think it’s obviously good for our confidence but it will be a totally different game on Sunday.”
King said the secret to WA’s success this season had been the even performance across the board.
“We are relying on more people, rather than just a few,” she said. “So everyone has kind of pulled their weight at certain stages when others haven’t and then those that miss out in some rounds pull their weight in the next round. So I think we’re performing better as a team than we have in previous years.”
King was full of praise for fellow Emageo Group stars Chloe Piparo and Nicole Bolton, who have led the run scoring in the competition with 365 and 369 runs respectively across the season.
“They’ve led from the front, the captain and the vice-captain,” King said. “And we wouldn’t be in the position we are without them.
“I think they’ll both be stoked with their individual performances but, like all of us, we’d hand any of that in to do well on Sunday. Hopefully they can do it again.”
King has been a regular wicket-taker throughout the competition.
“I was consistent,” she said. “I tried to play my role the best way I could. Some days it resulted in wickets, other days it didn’t.”
The tailender has also made some valuable contributions with the bat.
“I’ve definitely reminded them that some of the other batters haven’t hit a six but I have,” King laughed. “I’ve been fortunate that I have a thumb injury because it’s made me go about it a different way. I’ve used my bottom hand in the last month than I have in my whole career.”