Preston Valley v BridgetownPRESTON Valley and Bridgetown Cricket Clubs continued their recent run of close finishes, with Preston on the winning side this time, scraping over the line by one wicket at Egan Park on Saturday.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Bridgetown made a disastrous start when losing their first three wickets for only two runs.
A change in the bowling brought about more pain for the visitors, with Preston youngster Ben Alsop claiming two quick wickets to see the score 5-22, which included a spectacular unorthodox catch in the slips by Dean Smith.
Ron Roberts and Morgan Price combined well and put on 54 for the sixth wicket, before Roberts fell for 43.
Price was then joined by Rick Charles, with the pair taking off from their winning partnership in round four, to put on 60 for the seventh wicket.
Charles was eventually stumped by Wayne Clifford for a handy 27.
Price finished unbeaten on 55 as the Bridgetown innings came to an end at 8-159 after their 45 overs.
Shaun Gardiner (10-4-24-3) was the pick of the Preston bowling attack, with support from youngsters Joel Parker (10-1-37-2) and Ben Alsop (9-1-55-2).
In reply, Preston made a steady start before losing three quick wickets.
Craig Watson and Shaun Gardiner then combined to put on 53 for the fourth wicket, with Bridgetown ruing missed chances with several dropped catches.
It was the slower bowlers that again did all the damage for Bridgetown, with the evergreen Darren Tassos striking at critical moments.
Shortly after drinks, he dismissed Gardiner (27) and Watson (38), and picked up valuable middle order wickets to see the score 8-127.
The Preston tail was able to stop the fall of wickets, with Brad Swarbrick and Danny Hartnup finding valuable lower order runs.
The pair put on 29 for the ninth wicket before the match took another turn, with Swarbrick being bowled for 18 with only four runs remaining.
Tom Clifford played his part as the No. 11 batsman and, with all the luck on their side, Preston found the winning runs in the 43rd over.
Darren Tassos (9-0-36-5) was Bridgetown’s best bowler with his second five-wicket haul against Preston, with Mitch Clothier (10-0-35-2) also picking up two wickets.
Balingup-Greenbu shes v Boyup Brook
In the other match this week, Boyup Brook was made to work for their win against Balingup-Greenbushes at Balingup Oval on Saturday.
After winning the toss and batting first, Balingup made a steady start before losing three quick wickets. David Lamotte (36) made a start before being run out, with skipper James Morris anchoring the innings at No. 4.
Darren Guazzelli (22) and Rob Van Bavel (23) made middle order contributions, before Morris rounded out the innings with the tail, finishing unbeaten on 85 in his side’s total of 9-214.
Ben Mead (10-3-30-4) was the only multiple wicket taker for Boyup Brook.
In reply, the top-order failed for Boyup Brook; however Alex Tweedie played an important knock at No. 3, just falling short of another century, for 97.
Plenty of starts were made in the middle order; however valuable lower order runs came from Brendon Mead (44) and Ty Bancroft (48no), as Boyup passed the target in the 40th over with four wickets to spare.
The side finished 8-269 after their 45 overs.
Isaac Wedderburn (10-2-30-3) and Jacob Van Bavel (10-1-51-2) both took multiple wickets for Balingup.
Round wrap-up
Boyup Brook’s win closes the gap between first and second on the ladder after two complete rounds and sets up a crucial match between themselves and ladder leaders Bridgetown next week at Bridgetown.
Preston’s win consolidates third position on the ladder, with Balingup and Donnybrook rounding out the table.
The later two sides meet next week at Egan Park, with Balingup needing to defeat Donnybrook to remain within striking distance of their first finals berth, and conversely, Donnybrook needing to win to avoid a bottom finish for the first time in their long history.
For all match reports, scorecards and statistics, visit the DBCA website at www.dbca.wa.cricket.com.au.
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