Country Cup round one clash goes down to the wire as ADCA claim thrilling victory over WA Invitational XI

Albany and Districts Cricket Association secured a stunning two-run victory over the WA Invitational XI in the first round of their Belt-Up Country Cup title defence, completing a pulsating run-chase at Narrogin on Sunday. Star all-rounder Nathan Crudeli (113 runs) produced a match-winning century and Ryan Kinnear (20no) scored the all-important runs in the final overs to chase down a formidable total of 256. Wickets were hard to come by for ADCA in the early stages, with WA Invitational XI openers Calum How and Michael Noble piling on 84 runs in a solid opening partnership. How (37 runs) was the first to go for the WA Invitational before Noble was caught on 60 runs. Kieran Joyce came in at third drop and started to score at will in a 63-run stand with Clayton Bruce Cherry, before he was stumped for 32 runs. Joyce finished with 75 runs in a brilliant performance. The WA Invitational lost 3-32 in the final overs of the innings to finish on a commanding total of 6-256. With a tall task on their hands, a first-round victory was starting to look doubtful for ADCA as Alexander Fergie (16 runs) and Kieran Howie (2 runs) fell cheaply in the first five overs. Scotland international Oliver Davidson (1 run) was caught from the bowling of Tim Forsyth, Lincoln Joy was run out for 24 and captain Jeremy Wood (4 runs) was bowled soon after. At 5-86, it looked as though the chance of victory had been all but snuffed out for ADCA. However, the composed Crudeli stepped up to the crease and steadied the ship, scoring freely in an innings that included eight fours and two sixes. Crudeli picked up where he had left off the previous day, when he made a match-winning 70 runs for his local club Mt Barker. Together with Coen Marwick, he restored some balance to the match as the pair shared in a 55-run stand before Marwick was removed at 25 runs. Seb Stanton was caught from the bowling of Bailey Parsons before Crudeli raised the bat to mark his century. Ted Batchelor made an important 25 runs before the task of guiding ADCA to a famous comeback win fell to veterans Kinnear and Josh Dallimore. With ADCA needing three runs to win off two balls in an enthralling finish, Kinnear showed his class, blasting a picture-perfect drive through cover to secure the victory. Crudeli said the win showed a lot of determination and persistence. “It was a lovely pitch to bat on — you got a lot of value on your shots so credit to Narrogin, it was beautiful,” he said. “It was very tense at the end. There were a lot of nervous people being nine down and needing some runs to win. “We had the experience of Ryan Kinnear and Josh Dallimore out there and they got it done. “It was a great feeling.”