Brilliant first-up win for Albany and Districts led by captain Coen Marwick in Country Cup opener against Peel

Albany and Districts Cricket Association has started its Belt Up Country Cup campaign in strong fashion by winning a rain-reduced match against Peel on Sunday. The round one fixture at Albany’s Turf North was delayed by several hours due to a wet pitch soaked from rain in the lead-up, but when the game did finally get started it was dominated by the Whalers. The home side were under pressure early on after winning the toss and electing to bowl as Josh Rudge and Daniel Baker got Peel off to a flying start in the 25-over innings. However, the Whalers pegged back the run rate and snared regular wickets to reduce Peel to 131 batting first. That target proved no issue for Albany and Districts, as captain Coen Marwick smashed his side to an emphatic eight-wicket win. Marwick belted an unbeaten 80 as the Whalers passed the victory target with more than seven overs to spare. The result was a huge boost to the Whalers’ hopes of reaching the Country Cup final in December, with T20 matches against Bunbury and Districts and the WA Invitational XI to come next month. “It was very frustrating that rain coming and holding us up and on the reduced fixture we knew they would come hard at the top,” Marwick said. “But from the five-over mark ‘til the end of the game, it felt like we were in complete control. “Joe (Stanley) and Mitch (Green) our spinners clawed the bowling innings back. “We might have had a couple out due to certain things but I think everyone that played stood up or had a moment and contributed to a very important win in a shortened competition.” Set 132 to win, the Whalers’ chase had hardly begun when overseas player Joe Stanley was trapped lbw for one by Oliver Herrington. Marwick joined Seb Stanton in the middle and that pair shared in a 73-run stand that virtually ended any glimmer of hope Peel had. Stanton timed the ball well for his 26 before he was caught and bowled by Daniel Jones, who had injured a finger only moments earlier. Marwick was well settled by that point and he went up another gear after the second wicket fell, smashing four sixes and eight fours in his rapid half-century. He finished 80 not out from 54 balls and Mitch Green played a small cameo at the other end with an unbeaten 18 as the Whalers reached victory in 17.2 overs. The big moment came in the ninth over when the experienced Damien Stanley had Marwick dropped on the boundary by Noah Blight – one of two sixes the Whalers skipper hit in that over. It was a golden opportunity missed by Peel who never got another chance as Marwick powered his side to a big first-up win. Jones finished with 1-25 from his five overs to be the pick of the Peel bowlers. After the early onslaught from Rudge and Baker put on 50 runs, it was Joe Stanley and Green that got the home side back on top. Joe Stanley returned 3-27 from his five and Green chipped in with 3-16. Jeremy Wood (1-29), Hayden Davies (1-21) and Marwick (0-17) all bowled at less than six runs per over, which was also decisive. Jones made 22 down the order and Timothy Miles (17) was the only other Peel batter to make double figures after the openers. In the other round one fixture, Bunbury and Districts cruised to a six-wicket win over WA Invitational XI in Harvey.