Aggressive running between wickets and bold hitting in the late overs paid dividends for Dunsborough when they set up a match-winning total against St Marys in A-grade cricket at Barnard Park on Saturday.
After opting to take first use of a good batting track, Dunsborough compiled an imposing total of 5-243 from their 50 overs and then dismissed Saints for 111 in 39.1 overs.
Openers Danny Hatton (21) and Chris Reagan (19) got Dunsborough away to a sound 42-run start, before Aaron Mott (21) and Nick Ritchie (40) capitalised in the middle order.
But it was the hard hitting of Josh Reagan (69) and Matt Jamieson (44) that rubbed salt into Saints’ wounds as the game ran away from the home side after drinks.
Justin Gower’s 3-21 from 10 overs was a clear standout performance with the ball for Saints, while Jeremy Murphy also bagged two wickets, including one with his first ball of the day to dismiss Ritchie.
When Saints went to the crease, 18-year-old Jesse Pes struck three times to rip the heart out of the Saints top order. Veteran Marc Ford (28) battled hard, while Murphy (26) ensured Saints’ reply reached three figures.
Ritchie made the most of a rare appearance at the bowling crease to finish with a tidy 2-9 from six overs, while pocket dynamo Riccardo Small-Boyce (2-25) again bowled with typical fire for Dunsborough.
At Margaret River, persistent early-morning drizzle caused a late start and a reduction to 45 overs per side in the southern A-grade derby between Hawks and Cowaramup.
The over reduction proved irrelevant when veteran Hawks speedster Matt Kent decimated the Bulls line-up to finish with 6-22 as Cowaramup were dismissed for 89 in 26.5 overs. Kent was ably assisted by left-hander Rumesh Silva (3-15 from eight overs) as the ball skidded on in tricky batting conditions.
The consistent Fraser Oates (47) was again the exception for the Bulls, scoring over 50 per cent of his side’s runs. Hawks lost two early wickets in the chase but steadied to win comfortably in 32 overs, thanks to Brad Kelly (33 not out), Martin Head (15) and Grant Garstone (17 not out). Sri Lankan speedster Buddhika Sanjeewa (1-17 from nine overs) was easily the most impressive performer with the ball for the Bulls.
In B-Grade cricket, Cowaramup scored a nail-biting seven-run win over Vasse in the Hally Cup at Barnard Park on Sunday, scoring 133 and then dismissing Vasse for 126.
Todd Hartnett’s unbeaten century for St Marys in Saturday’s game against Vasse was the individual B-grade highlight of the weekend.
Dunsborough scored one of the quickest wins in B-grade history when they routed Cowaramup for 39 and took less than five overs to knock the runs off.
YOBS won the remaining B-Grade encounter when Max Walsh (79) led them to victory over Hawks at Margaret River.
B-grade results: Dunsborough 0-42 (4.3 overs) (J. Courtney-Bennett 29no) b Cowaramup 39 (24.5 overs) (C. Barrett-Lennard 13, S. Henry 3-9, M. Cooper 3-11, M. Vogelsanger 2-1) at Cowaramup Synthetic.
YOBS 266 (44.1 overs) (M. Walsh 79, A. Ruhode 50, A. Logan 30, T. Spowart 28, E. Piggott 25, J. Stanbury 4-34, T. Thomas 3-50, L. Westcott 2-29) b MR Hawks 145 (33.1 overs) (M. Earl 41, A. Robins 34, J. Trewren 3-30, A. Logan 3-51, K. Spowart 2-15) at Margaret River Synthetic.
St Marys 5-243 (45 overs) (T. Hartnett 106no, M. Brown 41, A. Leaney 35, J. La Motte 29, D. Ebert 2-41, D. Horncastle 2-54) b Vasse 146 (35.5 overs) (S. Bromilow 34, J. Albury 25, D. Tomlinson 5-30, T. Hartnett 2-13, A. Balkin 2-21) at Barnard Synthetic.
Sunday: Hally Cup: Cowaramup 9-133 (45 overs) (F. Oates 24, A. Smith 21, T. King 20, J. Albury 4-13) b Vasse 126 (27.2 overs) (J. Albury 67, S. Shepherd 31, K. Coates 4-7, B. Sanjeewa 3-5, O. Herbst 3-20) at Barnard Turf.
