Bush and ‘Burbs: Western Australia ends New South Wales dominance in Indigenous Cricket Championships

The West Australian sports reporter Jackson Barrett takes a look at what’s happening in the country and amateur leagues around WA in his weekly column. National champs Western Australia’s best Aboriginal cricketers are now the best in the country. In a clinical run chase in Alice Springs, WA ended New South Wales’ four-year stranglehold on the National Indigenous Cricket Championships. The title is WA’s fourth overall — nine years after their first — and was won with a side that included former Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars allrounder Clint Hinchliffe and one-time Scorchers rookie Michael Bailey. And 22-year-old WA gun Brock Larance remarkably claimed the tournament’s batting, bowling and best players awards. New South Wales’ score of 6-151 in the final was chased down with three-and-a-half overs and five wickets to spare. “Looking at the pitch earlier it looked hard, it looked flat, and it looked like there was going to be a lot of runs scored,” Larance said. “We know we close out our bowling innings well and we just restricted them to 150 and we knew that we were good enough to get it.” Teague good If you told just about anyone that Western Australia youngster Teague Wyllie would make 141 in a Premier Cricket match, you would be fairly confident Rockingham-Mandurah had won. But Wyllie was one of just two players, and the only batter in the top-eight, to pass 15. After a lean period post-Christmas in first-class cricket for the 19-year-old, he batted for 194 balls in an innings that included 13 fours and six sixes. Joondalup — with Jake Gerrans peeling off 138 and teenage star Kai Orr posting 91 — made 417 before dismissing the Mariners for 244 on the second day. He wasn’t the only first-class cricketer to post a first-grade century at the weekend. Former WA and South Australia player Will Bosisto helped University to an outright victory over Midland-Guilford. Bosisto hit 108, while former England international James Bracey made 89 opening the innings. They rolled Midland-Guilford for 155 and 122 after scoring of 4-253, then chased the surplus runs down with ease. Perfect 10 Fremantle can largely thank seamer Jacob Headland for their innings and 88-run win over Scarborough, sealed at the weekend. The Port Boys made 197 in their first innings, but rolled a Scarborough side depleted by Marsh Cup final selection for 49 and 60. Headland took 4-22 from 12 overs — including seven maidens — in the first innings, including wickets late on the opening day. Then he took 6-22 from less than 10 full overs to seal a perfect 10 and a thumping win. Country’s finest The WA Invitational XI won the Belt Up Country Cup by eight wickets at College Park in Nedlands on Sunday. The Invitational XI, which comprises of regional cricketers from outside the Bunbury, Albany and Peel regions as well as players who miss selection for their local sides, routed the Blue Swans for 102 and tracked their target down with more than 24 overs to spare. After the BDCA won the toss and chose to bat despite overcast conditions, Eaton leg spinner Riley Stenhouse (3-4 from 4.1 overs) and Colts seamer Bryn Bursill (3-23 from 9 overs) put in excellent performances with the ball against their home association. Bradman May, the BDCA men’s 1st-grade competition’s leading run-scorer, was the best of the batters with 39 from 42 balls at the top of the order. The chase was set up by an 82-run opening stand between Dalyellup’s Keagan Lynch (45* from 75 deliveries), who received player of the match honours, and Tambellup’s Flynn Cristinelli (36 from 63 deliveries). - Josh Kempton