PINT Cricket Club’s Jordi O’Toole has finished Cricket Australia’s U16s National Championships as the leading wicket taker, a major achievement for the 14-year old as Northern Territory wrapped up their campaign with a victory against ACT (Day 5) and two final-day defeats (Day 6) against Western Australia and Tasmania.
O’Toole claimed 16 wickets throughout the six days of cricket – equal with Victoria’s Georgia Naughton – but her superior average of just 12.25 saw the young left armer claim the prestigious honours as the competition's leading wicket taker, while she was also named in the Cricket Australia Team of the Tournament.
O’Toole’s best performances were 5/20 (Tasmania) and 4/34 (ACT), while on three occasions she took two or more wickets. Her accolades cap off a stellar year, after also taking out the Darwin & Districts Cricket Competitions (DDCC) leading wicket taker in the Women’s Division One and featuring in the DDCC Team of the Year.
The NT’s final matches of the U16 Championships saw a victory against ACT (Day 5) in a one-day fixture, with Palmerston’s Vishali Bimbral (23) and Federal’s Skylah Henwood (18) helping NT to a competitive total of 175. With the ball, O’Toole’s four wickets and contributions from Riva Guliya (2/13) and Waratah’s Abbey Warton (2/28) helped dismiss the ACT for 150, with the NT claiming a 25-run victory.
Day 6 included two T20 matches against WA and Tasmania, with the former posting 4/138 against the NT in what proved too big a total for the Territory girls, who ended their innings on 8/83 led by Trisha Bajaj (32*) and Tracy Village’s Ekam Dhillon (22). Match two saw Tasmania bat first and reach 6/127, with O’Toole and Riva Guliya taking two wickets. The Territory fell just short in their run chase, finishing 5/108 despite even contributions from Dhillon (11), Henwood (12*) and Bimbral (10*).
NT Head of Cricket – Nick Winter
“The achievements of Jordi have made the entire NT Cricket community extremely proud. Anyone who knows Jordi appreciates the person she is and how hard she has worked on developing her skills over the last year”
“It is a positive step for local female cricket to see a young Territorian girl leading the way at a National level, so credit must be extended to Jordi and her family, Trent Keep and the NT Cricket Academy program and PINT Cricket Club for their supporting roles”
“Overall, the tournament was another important step in developing female talent within the Territory, with the team building on their maiden win in 2025 (at their inaugural U16 National Championships) with two victories against the ACT and Tasmania”.