Senior country week: Warren Blackwood Cricket Association C and E-section sides have mixed start to tournament

Warren Blackwood Cricket Association’s country week C-section side has had an up-and-down start to the tournament, recording one big win and a resounding loss from their two games. The WBCA opened the week with an eight-wicket win over Bunbury in Bayswater on Sunday, but went down by six wickets to Port Hedland in Fremantle on Monday. In the first game, the WBCA restricted Bunbury to a score of 9-168, which they were able to chase in the penultimate over. A team effort with the ball saw Jacob Maw, Jack Muir, Declan Holland and Kayne Aitken claim two wickets apiece before Gary Mills (63 not out) and Josh Miller (45 not out) did the bulk of the work with the bat. The second fixture did not go as well, with the WBCA routed for a score of 73, which their opponents needed only 15 overs to chase. Miller was the only WBCA batter to reach double figures in the first innings, top-scoring with a hard-fought 16 from 45 balls, and Maw picked up another two wickets in the second despite the inevitability of the result. The E-section outfit have had a tough start to their tournament, losing to Esperance by seven wickets on Sunday and Bunbury by 103 runs on Monday. Daniel Bayman’s 63 not out was not enough to propel the team to a win in their first game, with Esperance chasing their total of 151 in the 36th over. The team’s second outing saw Bunbury post a total of 8-188 batting first, with Oscar Murphy (3-28 from eight overs) and Rueben Hill (2-32 from eight overs) taking multiple wickets, but the WBCA folded for 85 in response. Both games have been played in searing heat as Perth experiences a severe heatwave, with the temperature getting over 40C on Sunday and Monday. Matches have started earlier and been reduced to 40 overs under WA Cricket’s extreme heat policy. The two teams will be back in action on Wednesday after a rest day on Tuesday.