There were mixed results for the West Wimmera Warriors in the latest round of Horsham Cricket Association on Saturday with the A grade team scoring a last-over victory, but the C grade missing out
Going into this round the A grade Warriors had an outside chance of qualifying for the Twenty20 grand final, but after Homers defeated Rupanyup-Minyip on Friday evening that distraction disappeared and the Warriors could move their focus to the overall finals race.
Taking on Horsham Saints on their home turf at Coughlin Park in Horsham, the Warriors were asked to bowl first, and although the Saints’ batsmen put together several useful partnerships, regular wickets did not allow them to post a high score.
Two wickets to Nathan Alexander prevented Saints’ from gaining momentum towards the end of their innings which finished on 6 for 133 after their twenty overs.
Josh Lees, Austin Smith, Henry Smith, and Tim Braendler shared the other four wickets to fall.
The run chase got off to a slow start, with only twelve runs on the board both by the time both Warriors’ opening batsmen had been dismissed.
A third-wicket partnership of 53 between Bradley Alexander and Austin Smith (32), followed by Alexander and Henry Smith (26) putting on a further 38 got the Warriors within sight of victory.
A couple of late wickets kept the game alive into the last over, but Bradley Alexander remained not out on 58 when the winning runs were scored.
While this result still puts the Warriors in fourth place on the Twenty20 ladder, they are in third place on the overall ladder with four games remaining. Their next encounter will be a big test when they take on the competition-leading Noradjuha-Toolondo Bullants on Davis Park next weekend in a one-day match.
The B Grade team did not meet with the same success when they enjoyed their first game at Davis Park for the season, falling short against Noradjuha Toolondo Bullants.
Taking the opportunity to bat first appeared to be paying off when the opening batsmen had made 31 in the first five overs, but three quick wickets before any more runs had been scored stopped the momentum.
Two more wickets saw the team slump to 5 for 36 before Ash Dickinson (12) and Xavier Bone (12) took the score to 58 before the next wicket fell.
A mix of hitting and wickets in the innings’ closing overs saw the team finish with 75 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
Dylan Webb made the innings high score of 21.
Needing to restrict the Bullants to under 3.8 runs per over was always going to be a challenge, but the team approached it with enthusiasm.
Opening bowler Ruby James only conceded four runs from her three overs, and Dickinson only went for two runs per over during the three that he bowled, also finishing with two wickets.
At 49 without losing a wicket, the Bullants were on target, but their next 22 runs cost them four wickets, but some steady batting in the closing overs saw them pass the target with less than two overs remaining.
Webb added a wicket to his top score with the bat, and Alias Danaha took the other wicket to fall.
The B grade Warriors just missed out on qualifying for the Twenty20 final by 0.22 per cent, having finished on the same points as the second-placed Colts. Quantong was undefeated in this format and finished two games clear on top of the ladder.
On the overall ladder, the Warriors currently hold the third spot but face the challenge of taking on the ladder-leading Quantong on their home ground next weekend, followed by a clash with the fourth-placed Horsham Saints back on Davis Park the next Saturday.
Horsham Cricket Association - A Grade - Round 11 - Twenty20 Match
West Wimmera won by 4 wickets
Horsham Saints
| M Currill | ct. H Smith | b. J Lees | 18
| | C Smith | Ct. T Polkinghorne | b. A Smith | 31
| | J Harris | ct. N Alexander | b. T Braendler | 20
| | H Freak | ct. A Smith | b. H Smith | 11
| | J Hedt | ct. & | b. N Alexander | 15
| | A Laffy | not out | | 13
| | B Gillett | | b. N Alexander | 1
| | J Carroll | not out | | 0
| | Sundries | | | 15
| | TOTAL | (20 Overs) | 6 for 133
|
West Wimmera Warriors Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | N Alexander | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2
| | J Lees | 4 | 0 | 35 | 1
| | A Merrett | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0
| | A Smith | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1
| | H Smith | 4 | 0 | 19 | 1
| | T Braendler | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1
|
West Wimmera Warriors
| N Alexander | st. J Hedt | b. M Currill | 1
| | M Dahlenburg | ct. A Laffy | b. M Currill | 6
| | B Alexander | not out | | 58
| | A Smith | ct. & | b. J Harris | 32
| | H Smith | ct. D Avery | b. L Briggs | 26
| | L Smith | run out (M Currill/A Laffy) | | 7
| | T Braendler | run out (J Harris/J Hedt) | | 0
| | A Merrett | not out | | 1
| | Sundries | | | 6
| | TOTAL | (20 overs) | 6 for 137
|
Horsham Saints Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | Mcurrill | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2
| | J Carroll | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0
| | A Laffy | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0
| | J Harris | 4 | 0 | 37 | 1
| | L Briggs | 2 | 0 | 16 | 1
| | D Avery | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0
|
Horsham Cricket Association - C Grade - Round 9 - Twenty20 Match
Noradjuha Toolondo Bullants won by 5 wickets
West Wimmera Warriors First Innings
| D Webb | run out (S Oakley) | b. | 21
| | T Mitchell | | b. B Anson | 6
| | A Danaha | ct. C Pickering | b. S Oakley | 0
| | J Crowhurst | | b. J Walter | 3
| | L Hahne | | b. C Pickering | 2
| | X Bone | | b. D McKenry | 12
| | A Dickinson | run out (J Brown) | | 12
| | C Cardwell | ct. S McKenry | b. C Schmidt | 3
| | T James | not out | | 5
| | D Bullen | not out | | 3
| | Sundries | | | 8
| | TOTAL | (20 Overs) | 8 for 75
|
Noradjuha Toolondo Bullants Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | J Heard | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0
| | D McKenry | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1
| | S Oakley | 3 | 0 | 12 | 1
| | B Anson | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1
| | J Walter | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1
| | C Pickering | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1
| | C Schmidt | 3 | 0 | 13 | 1
|
Noradjuha Toolondo Bullants Innings
| S Oakley | ct. J Crowhurst | b. D Webb | 31
| | J Brown | ct. T James | b. A Dickinson | 24
| | J Heard | | b. A Dickinson | 5
| | C Schmidt | run out (J Crowhurst) | | 4
| | C Pickering | lbw | b. A Danaha | 0
| | B Anson | not out | | 4
| | M Eldridge | not out | | 6
| | Sundries | | | 7
| | TOTAL | (18.5 Overs) | 5 for 81
|
West Wimmera Warriors Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | R James | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0
| | J Crowhurst | 2.5 | 0 | 11 | 0
| | X Bone | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0
| | L Hahne | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0
| | A Danaha | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1
| | A Dickinson | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2
| | C Cardwell | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0
| | D Webb | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1
|
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