Albany and Districts Cricket Association A-section side dismantle Esperance in opening country week fixture

An electrifying display from the Albany and Districts Cricket Association A-section side against Esperance on Sunday has propelled them to the top of the ladder after round one. After losing the toss and being sent into field, the Whalers’ bowling attack collectively dismantled the Esperance batting line-up at Sutherlands Park. ADCA rolled Esperance in the 31st over for a meek total of 55 before reaching it one down in the 15th over, giving themselves a handy net run rate boost. Esperance openers Jack Gilbert (22) and Riley Mayfield (2) successfully saw off ADCA’s opening quicks Sam Keeling-Wright and Cameron Jones, but then their innings began to unravel. Joe Stanley and Lincoln Joy ripped through the Esperance 1 middle order, sharing seven wickets between them. Stanley led the way with 4-7 from nine overs, while Joy took 3-11 from his 2.4 overs. Captain Coen Marwick claimed two wickets and Ben Southern chipped in with one. Most of the Whalers batters got starts as they plundered 290 in their 60 overs. Keeling-Wright provided some late fireworks, bashing an unbeaten 66 from 27 balls which included six fours and five sixes. Wicketkeeper-bat Devon Jefferis scored 40 and veteran Alex Fergie scored 34. After round one, Albany is on top with a staggering net run rate of 3.92, ahead of Eastern Goldfields. ADCA C-section 2 side were 105-run victors in their round one match with Northam 1 at Morris Buzzacott Reserve on Sunday. O’Shea Durack led the Whalers’ second team to a total of 208 in their 50 overs, with a top score of 51. In defence, they rolled Northam 1-103 in the 41st over. Cameron Newbold, Lachlan Tindale and skipper Hayden Davies each took two wickets. ADCA C-section 3 team suffered a nine-wicket loss to Port Hedland 1 at College Park on Sunday. After being sent in to bat, the ADCA 3 had a catastrophic batting collapse when they lost eight wickets for nine runs. After their top three batters, not one person who walked to the crease gathered a double-figure score. ADCA 2 sit top of the ladder after round one, while ADCA 3 are bottom.