In Round 5 of the Barrier District Cricket League (BDCL), West got the job done against Central, winning the Saturday afternoon match-up at Alma Oval by five wickets.
The Magpies won the toss and elected to bat first, though runs were hard to come by as opener Clinton Jones (two off six) was bowled by Casey Ferguson (1/21) in the second over of the day. Fellow opener Nicholas Devoy (26 off 53) was the glue of Central’s top order before his departure saw the side reeling at 5/58.
Central’s batters made their way to 9/147 from the allotted 40 overs, with an unbroken 56-run partnership between the two tailenders Connor Turley (35* off 47) and Kade Ticehurst (13* off 36) steering their side to a competitive total and setting the target for West’s reply.
Each of West’s first four batters made double figures, with Peter Christos (45* off 78) the top-scorer for the side. Opener Lachlan Kaye (32 off 70) and Matthew Adams (26 off 16 including three sixes) each made considerable scores as the team managed to chase down the target inside 35 overs while Central’s Rocky Ninovic (4/29) took the bulk of his side’s wickets.
“I thought we played really well and the wicket played pretty true,” West vice-captain Laurence Hebberd, told the Barrier Truth.
“Everyone definitely put in the hard work. We were saying line and length. The ball was doing a bit of movement in the air, but just coming off the deck, it was pretty straight. [We] really had to try and work the ball in the air and hit the right areas. It was really good to see everyone pick up the wickets instead of just individuals here and there.
“Adam Perry and Lachlan Kaye, they’ve been doing their job perfectly seeing that shine off the ball. Lachlan ended up batting a lot of overs out and Perry played some nice shots so it was good to see the openers do their job. That way it was easier for me to move one of the bigger hitters up so Matthew Adams went up in that role and he played it beautifully making 20-something [and] Peter Christos played a vital role in the game with bat and ball, just falling short of 50 runs.”
Next weekend’s fixtures take place on Saturday, December 2 and see Central and South battling at Jubilee Oval, while West and North will go head-to-head at Alma Oval with both matches starting at 11am.
