Eastern Districts a breeze for Great Southern Cricket Association but Esperance a stiffer country week test

Great Southern Cricket Association’s top side won their opening B-section match against Eastern Districts B at CSBP country week, but found their second outing against Esperance a much more difficult test. GSCA chased down Eastern Districts’ 149 on Sunday, reaching 150 in the 44th over for the loss of five wickets. However, Monday’s contest against Esperance B proved a much stiffer match-up and they were found wanting with bat and ball, leaving them with a tricky final pool B contest against Bunbury and Districts on Wednesday and a semifinal spot at stake. The Esperance middle order put the boot in, doing much to rally their side after a poor start and taking them to an impressive 9-219 in their 50 overs. Great Southern stuttered in response, with Max Jordison (28), James Barritt (21) and Lewis Barritt (22) doing their best to emulate their opponents, but while they all got starts, nobody was able to move on. Wickets fell regularly and they were eventually all out for 124. Mac Crichton took three wickets in the Esperance innings, but they came at a cost of 51 runs. Skipper Jack Batchelor felt his side should have done better, especially with the bat. “It wasn’t our day, but we should have applied ourselves better when batting,” he said. “We should be doing better because our bowling has been good and so has our fielding. “I think it’s concentration more than anything and we need to do better.” He praised the leg-spin of Devon Cristinelli across both games and heralded Flynn Cristinelli’s contribution against Eastern Districts. He said a good win over Bunbury and Districts should be enough for semifinal qualification. In Sunday’s victory over Eastern Districts, Devon Cristinelli did much of the damage with the ball, taking 3-13 in removing the tail, while Lewis Barritt chipped in with 2-19. There were also wickets for James Barritt, Mitchell Blakers, Batchelor, Crichton and Ben Holmes as Great Southern utilised all its bowling options. Eastern Districts’ Adam Sedgwick (45) and James Kennedy (48no) provided some resistance, but the last five men in gathered only nine runs as Kennedy ran out of partners. The Great Southern response was led by Flynn Cristinelli, who plotted 59 runs off 130 balls to be the mainstay of the innings. Seb Ballard, Jordison and James Barritt all went cheaply but Connor Hawkins’ 24 was helpful, as were the profligate Eastern District bowlers who provided 31 extras. Great Southern reached 5-150 to secure the round one win. Great Southern 2 also enjoyed a first-day win in D-section, overcoming Bunbury and Districts D1 in pool-A by three wickets. Bunbury and Districts batted first, Jaxon Magennis making 50 as his side reached 215 in just 31 overs. They may have scored at pace, but Brock Green removed the top order, taking 3-20, and then Jesse Johnston, Peter Robertson and Ryan Sinclair grabbed two wickets each to ensure that Bunbury and Districts earned little reward for their risk-taking. James Douglas scored 71 off 80 balls in the Great Southern reply and he was well backed up by David Hinchcliffe’s 41 and Jamie Young’s 27. Great Southern reached 7-216 to claim the spoils. In Monday’s match against Eastern Goldfields D, Great Southern’s chase was a disaster as they were all out for 42, chasing Goldfields’ 252. No-one reached double figures and the last four batters were all out for ducks. Goldfields’ skipper Alexander Jerrard enjoyed his day, taking 6-8. Their final pool match on Wednesday was to be against Fortescue D.