Broome Cricket Association misses out on win in North West Cup

The Broome Cricket Association sent a team to compete in the North West Cup in Port Hedland at the weekend showing their Pilbara rivals what it means to play with Kimberley spirit. The annual tournament which pits teams from across the North West against each other was hosted by the Port Hedland Cricket Association with matches taking place n the 42°C heat 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.” Broome managed to take down their hosts Hedland in their first match on Friday, 4-147 to 8-144, but their luck soon ran out with the West Pilbara defeating the Broome side early on Saturday morning, 8-153, to 9-127. Broome then played against Newman on Saturday afternoon, but unfortunately suffered another loss, 3-163 to 36. The West Pilbara team claimed the grand final victory after defeating the Hedland side by 29 runs with the grand final match raising more than $1600 for the McGrath Foundation Ms Johnston said the inaugural “pink stumps” fundraising match was a great success. “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 year marks the first time Port Hedland has hosted the cup since 2016.