Great Southern Cricket Association fall short in senior country week B-section grand final

The Great Southern Cricket Association fell narrowly short in their bid to win the senior country week B-section title on Friday, going down by 43 runs to West Pilbara in the grand final at Rosalie Park in Perth. Great Southern were undefeated heading into their grand final clash against West Pilbara after finishing on top of the pool A standings. Wins over Geraldton, South Midlands and Albany and Districts helped them secure a semifinal berth against Newman. A crushing 196-run trouncing of Newman ensured they went straight through to the decider against West Pilbara, who finished atop the pool B standings. West Pilbara won the toss and elected to bat before losing the early wickets of Dean Whiteford (16 runs), Cameron Gordon (7) and Shane Edwards (3). A peach of a delivery helped Jack Batchelor trap Jordan Perkusich in front for five runs as West Pilbara stumbled to 4-35. Lachlan Seabrook (74) and Cody Bone settled things with a 44-run partnership before Nathan Willmott had Bone caught behind for 11 in the 27th over. However, Seabrook showed his class with an aggressive display of batting, smashing 10 boundaries on his way to 74 before Jedd Herbert had him out lbw. Daniel Harding whacked 45 runs towards the tail-end as West Pilbara posted 8-213 at the conclusion of the 60 overs. Willmott finished with terrific figures of 3-37, while Batchelor (2-31) and Herbert (2-47) provided plenty of support. Great Southern were in all sorts of trouble to open their innings after James Barritt (4), Flynn Cristinelli (0) and Clinton Gilbert (0) were all dismissed by the third over. A steadying 87-run partnership between Liam Want and Batchelor (64) helped Great Southern regain some control before Want was caught and bowled by Perkusich for 33. Want’s dismissal triggered a collapse with Herbert (3), Connor Hawkins (0) and Batchelor all falling within the space of four overs to leave Great Southern at 7-106. Willmott (24) and Sebastian Ballard (21no) added more runs at the back end but Great Southern were all out for 170 in the 43rd over to go down in the decider. In their semifinal clash with Newman, a classy 88-run knock from Gilbert helped post a huge total of 8-300 before Newman were knocked over for a paltry 104 runs. Herbert (53) also chipped in with a spirited half-century, while Hawkins added 43. Darcy Middleton did the damage with the ball in the second innings to take 4-26, while Willmott (2-26) and Batchelor (2-6) also took multiple wickets. In their final pool game on Wednesday, Great Southern were emphatic 132-run winners over Albany and Districts. Great Southern posted 6-225 thanks to contributions from Barritt (67) and Herbert (40) with the bat. In response, Albany and Districts could only manage 93 in reply, with Gilbert (4-20) and Middleton (4-13) ripping through the batting line-up. Gilbert topped the runs for Great Southern across the week, making 181 at an average of 36.2. Middleton was a terrific spin option and snared 11 wickets at 9.36 to lead their bowling attack.