Perth Cricket Club have continued their strong hold on WA Premier Cricket, with a crushing victory over Bayswater-Morley in the One-Day Final, played at the WACA Ground on Sunday January 28.
Perth claim Premier Cricket One-Day Title
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Perth’s innings got off to a horror start, losing state-contracted opener Sam Fanning for just 1 in the early exchanges.
Premier Cricket gun Jono Wells also fell cheaply, edging his first ball through to Bayswater-Morley keeper Christian Smith off opening bowler Jonty Wilde.
Perth wicketkeeper batter Joel Curtis, who also made his Sheffield Shield debut against Queensland earlier in the summer, was the mainstay of his side’s batting innings, top scoring with 58 off 110 balls as he and experienced batter Jacob Snadden (34 off 73) combined for a 58-run fifth wicket stand to rescue Perth from early trouble.
Despite their efforts, Perth were restricted to 8-161 off their 50 overs, with the Bears bowling lineup not allowing Perth’s batters to feel comfortable at the crease.
Wilde was the pick of the bowlers for the Bears, finishing his ten overs with impressive figures of 2-22, while Mitchell Todd (2-27) also finished with multiple wickets.
Heading into the chase, the Bears would have felt confident of chasing down the modest total, especially with an in-form batting lineup containing young guns Ryleigh Cameron and Lane Berry.
Early wickets with the new ball were the order of the day for Perth, and that’s exactly what happened.
Tall seamer Ethan Carrington ripped the heart out of the Bears top order, trapping Callum Wiggers (0) and Berry (0) in front without scoring, before getting Christian Smith (0) playing a mistimed pull shot to mid-on.
Perth bowler Jack Baker then captured the key wicket of Cameron (23) and suddenly, the Bears were in real strife at 4-36, and in a desperate need of a partnership.
Unfortunately for the Bears, wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, with Lachlan Pratt (2-14) and Sean Roberts (2-10) impressing during the middle overs to help bowl out Bayswater-Morley for just 89 in 29.3 overs.
Mitchell Todd (23) and Cameron were the only two Bears batters to reach double figures in the run chase, with all of Perth’s bowlers taking at least one wicket.
Carrington finished with 3-10 off six overs and was awarded a well-deserved Player of the Match for his match-winning performance with the ball.
Perth 8-161 (Curtis 58, Snadden 34, Wilde 2-22) defeated Bayswater-Morley 89 (Cameron 23, M Todd 23, Carrington 3-10)