Albany and Districts taste grand final glory at annual junior country week in Perth

Albany and Districts Cricket Association under-16 A-section team have returned from the annual junior country week with silverware after their gallant eight-wicket grand final victory over Bunbury and Districts in Perth on Friday. The impressive under-16 squad displayed superb bowling and batting as they chased down Bunbury and Districts’ run total by the 33rd over to claim title glory at the WACA. Teague Valli and Matthew Thompson shined with the ball in the first innings before opener Devon Jefferis showed his class to help guide his team home comfortably. Bunbury and Districts were rattled early with their first eight wickets falling at the cost of just 100 runs and despite a strong 90-run knock from Benjamin Cherry, they were all out for 162. Cameron Walsh snared the opening wicket of Ashton Goodwin before Valli skittled Jed Torrisi for a duck and then removed Keagan Lynch (6 runs) as Bunbury stumbled to 3-16. Bunbury and Districts’ wickets kept falling as they failed to gather any momentum throughout their innings and they fell to 8-100. Bunbury and Districts’ Cherry and Tom Sletten (19) shared in a crucial 59-run stand before Sletten and Zahkiya Lamotte (1) were both dismissed in the 49th over to close out the innings. Valli returned wonderful bowling figures of 3-25 while Matthew Thompson also chipped in with 3-43. Devon Jefferis (73) and Milan Jaggi set Albany and Districts on their way with a 49-run opening partnership before Jaggi was skittled by Edwan Trewren for 19. Buddy Robinson stepped up to the crease to add 25 runs before he was removed in the 21st over but Jefferis took over the innings from there to smash his way to an unbeaten 73 runs, while Valli displayed great versatility with the bat, adding 37 of his own to cap a brilliant individual performance. Valli sealed the game with a sweetly hit boundary as Albany and Districts closed out the game at 2-164. Valli finished his country campaign as the highest wicket-taker at the competition with an astonishing 17 scalps, 10 ahead of his Wellington District Cricket Association counterpart Rowan Jamieson. Jefferis was named player of the final at the WACA. Meanwhile the Albany and Districts under-16 B-section team went down in their third and fourth play-off match against Peel at Gwynne Park in Perth on Friday. The second-string under-16 team finished third in their pool with a record of two wins and two losses across their four regular games. Albany and Districts were in trouble at 2-5 after the early wickets of Heath Caldwell (2) and Cooper Edwards (2) but Angus McSweeney and Rory Sutherland steadied the ship with a 29-run stand. McSweeney smashed his way to a 74-run innings that included five fours and two sixes, but wickets fell around him as Albany and Districts were skittled for 125. Peel’s Trent McLennan (28) and Macky White (35) were both run out, but a half century to Ryan Hall (51) helped Peel sail home with just under three overs to spare, finishing at 2-129.