Albany and Districts maintain perfect record to start annual senior country week

Albany and Districts first XI have strengthened their claims for a grand final spot at the annual senior country week competition in Perth, recording a second straight win against rivals Bunbury and Districts 2 on Monday. The Whalers’ Lincoln Joy dominated with a glittering 94-run innings to help his side post a total of 6-239 before Bunbury were skittled for 73. The Whalers were left to lament a lacklustre opening after batsman Ryley Valli was knocked over for a duck with his fifth ball faced. But Joy and English import Myles Holland put together a game-defining 145-run partnership before Joy was finally removed in the 44th over. Captain Coen Marwick (19 runs) was the next to fall in the 47th over with Oliver Davidson stepping up to the crease, but the Scottish all-rounder was caught from the bowling of Caleb Milbanke just three balls later for a duck. Holland employed a patient approach on his way to 64 off 176 balls in the 60-over match but his innings came to end in the 56th over with Seb Stanton (23) following him to the pavilion shortly after. Junior country week star Teague Valli continued his hot form to tear through the wickets of Keagan Lynch (4) and Steven Florance (0) before running out Austin Kent and snaring his third wicket to remove Sam Allen for a duck. With scores at 4-13 by the 12th over, Bunbury and Districts failed to conjure a meaningful partnership toward their tail-end and finished all out for a paltry 73 runs. Alex Garlick snared some important late wickets to finish as the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-19 while Teague Valli took 3-13 with the Whalers currently sitting atop pool B. The Whalers kept their momentum going with a 64-run win over Geraldton on Wednesday. Stanton top scored with 39 off 62 to help his side post 153 batting first. Garlick dominated with the ball in the second innings, taking 5-23 as Geraldton stumbled to 89 all out. In their first game on Sunday, the A-section squad recorded a crushing win over Eastern Goldfields. The Whalers’ bowling order showed their class with an even spread of wickets in the first innings to restrict Eastern Goldfields to 86 batting first before storming to a strong total of 181 in the second innings. The match hung in the balance multiple times for the Whalers but South Australian all-rounder Alex Garlick bobbed up for a game-saving 69-run knock to ensure they got over the line. Whalers’ Ryley Valli (1 run) and Myles Holland (0) were the first to be dismissed before Lincoln Joy and Coen Marwick restored some order to a shaky opening period. Joy and Marwick put together a 43-run partnership but Graham Kennedy snagged the wicket of Joy in the 14th over. Things were looking uncertain as Ollie Davidson (1 run), Seb Stanton (5) and captain Marwick’s wickets all fell in the space of a few overs as they stumbled to 6-58. Eastern Goldfields were in the box seat as English import James Bottomley’s wicket was crashed into from the bowling of Kennedy in the 20th over. However a vital 54-run stand between Garlick and youngster Teague Valli (19) ensured they quelled Eastern Goldfields’ momentum to cruise past the required total and win by 95 runs. Veteran Ryan Kinnear added an unbeaten 28 runs to close out the innings as Albany and Districts finished all out for 181. Garlick shone with the bat in a versatile display, finishing with 69 off 90 balls. Earlier in the innings bowling performances from Ben Grey (2-14), Garlick (8-2) and Scottish international Oliver Davidson (2-15) helped the Whalers set the tone. Eastern Goldfields were 5-28 in the 17th over and despite middle order contributions from Samuel Carraghan (21) and Trent Bradshaw (19), their last five wickets fell at the cost of 58 runs. The Whalers were in a good position midway through their match with Esperance on Thursday. Esperance were 7-98 in the 34th over of the first innings. Meanwhile, the Whalers B-section squad slipped up in their second round clash with Geraldton 2 despite a terrific all-round performance from Steven Scott. Scott had the scalps of openers Aaron Joss and Jimmy Hyde for a duck each in an opening double-wicket maiden over and took two more to finish with bowling figures of 4-48. Middle order contributions from Geraldton’s Cody Slootman (73) and Jayden Pinto (54) helped them post a strong total of 227 all out. The Whalers were in trouble at 5-44 and despite a spirited half century to Scott (50) and back-end knocks to Lachlan Tindale and Hayden Davies (37), they fell short of the required target in the 60-over affair. Earlier a sparkling century from Jason Jones guided the B-section side to a win against South Midlands in their first game on Sunday. With Albany and Districts winning the toss and electing to bat, they posted 181 in the first innings before a five-wicket haul to Hayden Davies helped them knock over South Midlands for 171. Angus Thompson (11), Dan Robson (2), Jed Schwarzbach and Aran Tilbury (3) were all dismissed to leave Albany and Districts at 4-74 but Jones continued to show an array of shots in a glittering innings that included 19 fours. Lachie Tindale (16) and Steven Scott (14) chipped in with some contributions towards the back end of the innings but their side was ultimately bowled out for 181 in the 48th over. Davies snared the first four wickets in the second innings, removing Kane Millstead (6), Ashley Martin (19), Lewis Roe (16) and Ben Giles (0) to leave South Midlands at 4-57 by the 15th over. South Midlands had handy contributions from their middle order but they were knocked over 10 runs shy of their target. Davies finished with superb bowling figures of 5-35 in a rampant display. The B-section side went down by 132 runs against the Great Southern Cricket Association on Wednesday. Albany and Districts C-section team remain undefeated after first-up wins over Bunbury and Districts, Port Hedland and Green Range Ongerup. In their clash with Port Hedland, Gary McGlade (5-12) starred with the ball in the first innings as their opposition posted 137 all out before James Morris (62) top scored with the bat with the Whalers finishing on 5-166 to win by five wickets.