BATHURST'S Charlotte Shoemark did it all for Western in Monday's opening game of the NSW PSSA Girls Cricket Championships. The Western skipper took three wickets, scored her first career half century and even managed a catch as wicketkeeper in her team's opening game against Combined Independent Schools (CIS) at Scots All Saints' College. The home side ultimately went down by 28 runs in their pursuit of CIS' 117 but showed a lot of potential for a team filled with many players getting their first taste of cricket at this level. Western convener Toby Morgan said it's great to see a lot of girls from the region not being afraid to take the step up into the NSW PSSA competition. "It was great to see that we were competitive. A lot of the girls in the team don't play weekend cricket, so for a lot of them it was their first real game of cricket," he said. "They all stuck to it. They bowled and fielded well. In the end we came up a bit short but they put in a great effort. "It's certainly an exciting occasion for a lot of them. They've come together from all across the Western area to play some cricket and make new friends." Morgan was full of praise for Shoemark's efforts. "She opened the bowling and got three wickets, had a 50 retired, took a catch and was captain," he said. "She certainly covered a lot of bases for us." It didn't take long for Shoemark to make an impact in Monday morning's 25 over match as she picked up the first three wickets of the contest to have CIS at 3-17. Remaining opening batter Neve Sutton (17) hung around for longer while Maddie Anderson (28) top scored for her side. Number 10 batter Lily Cox (19) also added late runs to help push CIS into triple figures. Shoemark finished with 3-2 while Wellington's Zara Harvey also took three, ending her day with 3-20. Western made it to 10 runs to start their innings when they lost three wickets without adding a run. That brought Shoemark to the crease, and she showed great composure in the middle to rack up eight of the nine boundaries that Western hit in their innings. Shoemark retired at 50 not out and was able to return to the crease once the rest of her team were dismissed, but her excellent knock was ended with a catch at mid wicket. Cox also had a great all-round day for CIS as she took 3-6. Shoemark's effort caps off a special couple of days for the family. Just two days earlier her brother, Lochlan, brought up his first career century in City Colts' President's Cup win. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: