Albany and Districts Cricket Association win do-or-die clash in country cup but fail to qualify for decider

Albany and Districts Cricket Association brilliantly defended a low total to win a tense final round Country Cup clash with Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association in Eaton on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as they agonisingly fell one point short of reaching the decider. A much-strengthened Whalers side notched a second win of the 50-over competition, defeating Bunbury and Districts by 21 runs in round three, but they missed out on finishing in the top two. In the other round three fixture WA Invitational XI downed Peel by 43 runs, leaving Albany and Districts, Bunbury and Districts and WA Invitational XI all locked on two wins. However bonus point wins to Bunbury and Districts and WA Invitational XI gave them 13 points while Albany and Districts were left to finish third with 12. The ADA won their first game of the competition when Peel forfeited in December, not giving the home side a chance to secure a bonus point. On Sunday, Albany and Districts posted 139 at the end of their first innings on a tricky surface at Eaton Recreation Reserve with veteran Jeremy Wood playing a vital hand with an unbeaten 52. In their defence, the Whalers got off to a flyer after Mitch Jackson claimed the wicket of Nicholaas Le Roux (four) in the second over. First-change bowlers Joe Stanley and Matt France combined for four wickets in quick succession before Wood castled Tim Hutchison as the hosts slumped to 6-55. Bunbury and Districts’ Tyne Dodds (22) and Brayden Clarke (26 not out) consolidated for a 46-run seventh-wicket stand before Nathan Crudeli got the much-needed breakthrough. With 10 overs to go Bunbury needed 49 runs with four wickets in hand before the Whalers claimed three wickets in 10 balls to quash the hosts’ chances of victory. Bunbury and Districts were all out for 118 in the 47th over, their first loss of the campaign with the result leaving the Whalers in calculations for the final. Stanley bowled superbly for 2-24 from 10 overs, while Crudeli and France each claimed two wickets. Wood’s economic middle-over spell of 1-6 from 6.3 overs was crucial before he claimed the matchwinning wicket. Earlier, Bunbury and Districts paceman Jacob Wintle terrorised the Whalers’ top order claiming three of the top four on his way to 4-29 while off-spinner Hutchison continued their early dominance with 2-24 from 10 overs. Terry Waldron medallist Lincoln Joy was skittled for a golden duck by Wintle on the second ball of the innings before the lethal quick claimed the scalps of Crudeli and captain Coen Marwick in the fifth over. At 6-40, Wood and Mitch Jackson (34) combined for a vital 65-run stand to elevate their side into a triple-figure score before Jackson fell to Cruize Ciallella (2-21). Wood continued his lone hand in a bid to salvage their innings as Whalers’ batsman came and went. Seb Stanton and Devon Jefferies both departed after adding a solitary run before Patrick Butler (12) assisted Wood to add an invaluable 26 runs for the final wicket, proving to be a pivotal partnership. The cup grand final will be played between Bunbury and Districts and the WA Invitational XI on Sunday, February 25.