NEWS
Follow UsWestern Australia, on Friday, at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, won their second Marsh Cup title in three years as match-winning showings from the duo of Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye helped the Ashton Turner-led side register an 18-run win over New South Wales. Western Australia have now won four 50-over domestic titles since the 2014/15 season, the highest tally among all teams in the country.
Early into the clash on Friday, however, it did not look like WA would storm their way to the title.
After winning the toss and batting first, disaster struck for WA as the team lost both the openers - Josh Philppe and D’Arcy Short - inside the first three overs. Shaun Marsh and Cameron Bancroft then consolidated with a fine 65-run stand, but a collapse then ensued as the Turner-led side lost four more wickets while adding just 13 more runs. It was Adam Zampa who was the wrecker-in-chief for New South Wales and things looked bleak for WA, who were reduced to 89/6.
However, a fine effort from the lower-order took WA to a fighting total of 225/9 at the end of 50 overs. While Jhye Richardson top scored with a gutsy 44, he was well supported by Aaron Hardie (27), Matt Kelly (27*) and Jason Behrendorff (24*).
In response NSW got off to a solid start, with openers Dan Hughes and Matthew Gikes adding 42 runs for the first wicket, but the Blues kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The openers perished on 42 and 47 respectively, and they too endured a mini-collapse just like WA, losing 4 wickets between 85 and 108. In this case the chief destructor was Andrew Tye, who accounted for the wickets of Kurtis Patterson, Jack Edwards and all-rounder Hayden Kerr.
A 60-run stand between Daniel Sams and Ben Dwarshuis threatened to bring NSW right back into the game, but a crucial strike from Hardie, who removed Sams for 42, stopped the Blues’ charge.
Tye and Kelly dismissed the last two batters for ducks to seal an 18-run victory, and subsequently the title, for Western Australia.
