West Pilbara take out North West Cricket Cup as successful pink stumps match is set to return next year

West Pilbara have taken out the 2023 North West Cricket Cup as the competition’s first pink stumps match is deemed a big success. The annual tournament was hosted by the Port Hedland Cricket Association with matches taking place on Friday and Saturday. Teams from Broome, Newman, Port Hedland, and the West Pilbara — whose players are from Karratha and the surrounding areas — took part in this year’s tournament. PHCA secretary Stacey Johnston said the tournament served as a great way to grow the sport in the North West. “There’s a bit of a rivalry between the towns within the Pilbara and the Kimberley,” she said. “The tournament is great for the promotion of the sport in the North West, we have a lot of really good cricketers up here and this particular cup showcases that.” “Regardless of the rivalry between the towns, it builds camaraderie between the teams.” It was a slow start for Hedland in the tournament as they lost their first match against Broome on Friday. With two wins against Newman and West Pilbara on Saturday they managed to secure their spot in the final. West Pilbara managed to dispatch Newman on Friday night under the lights and then beat Broome early on Saturday morning. The final between West Pilbara and Hedland was a rematch of their game played just hours earlier. But this time the Karratha-based side managed to get their revenge as they beat Hedland by 29 runs. The grand final was a pink stumps game that raised money for the McGrath Foundation. Ms Johnston said the inaugural fundraising match was a great success with more than $1600 raised for the Foundation. “This is the very first one we have ever done and it would be nice to do an annual one which we will work on again for next year,” she said. “As each year grows the cup gets bigger and bigger. Next year we will not host the cup but we might do a corporate cup or something within town where we will raise money for the McGrath Foundation. “We have a lot of nurses playing in our women’s teams so the match was also about supporting our nurses who work in healthcare.” This was the first time that Port Hedland had hosted the cup since 2016.