Our final serving of West Cricket Club’s stellar year – from Round Nine to the Grand Final.
ROUND NINE – West 7/118 draw with Central 118
Ties in one-day competition are rare in cricket and it is no different in the Barrier District Cricket League.
With the season heading towards Christmas break, West went all out against Central in a bid to remain undefeated for the first part of the season, and they did. But this was a close one, as they drew with Central in what was an incredible finish.
“It was a tough deck to bat on, said West’s captain, Mackenzie Attard.
“We had made 118 and I think it came down to the last four overs, they needed five runs to win.
“I threw Peter Christos the ball and they were nine down and he got a wicket and we drew. It was really important for us because it meant we stayed on top of the table and undefeated heading into the Christmas break.”
With the first half of the season done and dusted, the signs were ominous for the rest of the league with West A-Grade side undefeated. To illustrate how far ahead of everyone else they were at this stage, they could have lost the nail biting contest with Central and still held on to top spot.
ROUND 10 – West 72 defeat Central 44
With the Christmas break out of the way, cricket was back as the BDCL entered T20 mode for a couple of weeks with their Big Bash competition. It made no difference to the rampaging West side who picked up a big win over Central to open their account in 2023 with Matt Handberg starring with bat (33) and ball (2/9).
‘He is just a superstar,” says Attard.
“He puts his heart and soul into everything and no matter what it is, he just wants to succeed.”
ROUND 11 – West 6/100 defeat South Roos 77
Laurence Hebbard was once again the destroyer with the ball, finishing with figures of 3/13 from his allotted four overs.
“That was a really good game. I think Ferg (Casey Ferguson) bowled really well that game. He was very economical, which he was for most of the season. He didn’t take loads of wickets, but he swung the ball and troubled opposition batters all season. There wasn’t a game where the opposition got a hold of him at all.”
ROUND 12 – West 5/101 defeat South Roos 8/67
Following defeat in the T20 final to North Broken Hill (which we haven’t covered here as it didn’t affect the league standings) it was South Roos who suffered defeat.
Veteran Peter Christos starred with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 31, whilst Hebbard (3/7) shone with the ball once again, picking up three South scalps as the West bowling attack held them to just 67.
“The last few seasons, almost every game Laurence’s name is in the paper. He is the best bowler in town in my books.
“Peter [Christos] batted really well in this game. He needed a long stay at the crease and that’s what he got.”
ROUND 13 – West 8/111 defeat North 7/109
In an early preview of what would eventually be Grand Final day, West notched up a close victory over North Broken Hill. This match saw the captain himself record a season high score of 49, with Max Everuss scoring 31 in a match winning 67-run partnership between the two players.
ROUND 14 – Central 2/88 defeat West 87
Shockwaves through the league after the penultimate round when Central slayed was West Cricket.
“The start of that game didn’t really help,” sys Attard.
“We were 1/17 from 15 overs. We couldn’t get the Central bowlers away. They didn’t let us manipulate their field. JP (Jarred Paull) is an amazing captain, he sets awesome fields – he knows every batter in town like the back of his hand.
“Central executed really well that day and it paid off for them.”
ROUND 15 – North 5/144 defeat West 67
If the loss to Central was a wake-up call, a second consecutive loss, this time against North Broken Hill set a few alarms ringing.
The two consecutive heavy losses could not have come at a worse time. This was not the form they wanted to take into finals.
“It was concerning the way we played this game, says Attard.
“We hadn’t played like that all season. And then in the last two games, something must have changed that didn’t work for us.
“We got absolutely pumped. All credit to North. They played cricket as a team that day and, put simply, we didn’t.”
SEMI FINAL – West 9/156 defeat Central 131
It was back to regular service when semi final day came around as West, powered by another Callum Rosewarn half century (56), laid on 156 runs as they batted first.
GRAND FINAL – West 7/106 defeat North 105
And here we are. The big dance. The match for all the marbles. The whole reason anyone plays cricket in the BDCL – Grand Final day. It was the best two sides and West pulled off the near impossible by winning their second consecutive Grand Final.
Max Everuss and Matthew Handberg came together for West with a match winning sixth-wicket stand of 45. Handberg also had a fantastic game with the ball, picking up three wickets in a Man of the Match performance.
“We had North five for bugger all. When we ran Hacky out [North captain Tobias Hack], Vella then went cheaply and we knew that one more wicket would break the game open. Unfortunately we didn’t get it and it Cody Howard, who has been phenomenal for North over a number of years, brought them back into the game.
