Josh Philippe’s remarkable 88-ball 90 stood out as Western Australia secured a four-wicket victory over Queensland at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field, chasing a target of 239 with 9.4 overs to spare.
Despite setbacks like losing opener D’Arcy Short on his very first ball and Cameron Bancroft for a mere 10, Philippe steered the ship in a successful run-chase and a winning start to the season. He, alongside Sam Whiteman, who knocked 62 off 52 balls, added a pivotal 90-run partnership for the third wicket. Towards the end, it was Cooper Connolly (42 off 32) and skipper Ashton Turner (27* off 55), who anchored the innings to see WA home.
Earlier in the day, Queensland were bowled out for 238 in 46.2 overs after the batters failed to convert promising starts. The highest score was Ben McDermott’s 52 off 69 deliveries at the top of the order. Their innings seemed to be going well but saw a sudden collapse from 102/1 in the 20th over. They went on to lose three quick wickets for just 19 runs. Lance Morris, although a bit expensive with 4 for 64 off 10 overs, made his mark by dismantling the latter half of Queensland’s batting lineup. Cameron Gannon, Andrew Tye and D’Arcy Short provided worthy support to Morris.
Brief Scores: Queensland 238 in 46.2 overs (McDermott 52; Morris 4-64) lost to Western Australia 242/6 in 40.2 overs (Philippe 90, Whiteman 62; Mark Steketee 2-39) by 4 wickets
