Skipper Sam Whiteman led from the front with an unbeaten 137 off 124 as Western Australia defeated South Australia by 4 wickets in the One-Day Cup game in Perth on Tuesday (November 21) to top the points table. Chasing 280 for victory, Western Australia got over the line with three deliveries to spare.
Asked to bat, South Australia got off to a positive start with Jake Fraser-McGurk scoring a 15-ball 31. Daniel Drew then put on half-century stands with Henry Hunt and Nathan McSweeney to provide South Australia a solid platform. Both Drew and McSweeney registered half-centuries, with the former scoring a 96-ball 84.
South Australia were well-placed at 193/2 in the 33rd over but Western Australia came back well with the ball as they picked up wickets at regular intervals and did not allow a flourishing finish for South Australia. Only 52 runs came off the last 10 overs, which includes two sixes in the final over, and South Australia also lost four wickets in the death.
Western Australia lost their openers early in the chase and could only manage 42 in the first 10 overs. But they picked up pace after that thanks to Cameron Bancroft and Whiteman, who struck timely boundaries and paced their partnership well. Bancroft, however, fell soon after getting past 50, which ended a partnership worth 96 runs.
Hilton Cartwright fell cheaply but Whiteman received support from D’Arcy Short in a 66-run stand that took Western Australia past 200. South Australia hit back with a couple of wickets and at 230/6 after 44 overs, Western Australia were in a spot of bother. But Whiteman ensured there were no further hiccups as he and Jhye Richardson (25* off 16) helped their side to the target as Western Australia registered their fourth win in five games to extend their points tally to 17.
Brief scores: South Australia 279/7 in 50 overs (Daniel Drew 84, Nathan McSweeney 53; Cooper Connolly 1-41) lost to Western Australia 282/6 in 49.3 overs (Sam Whiteman 137*, Cameron Bancroft 51; Lloyd Pope 3-59) by 4 wickets.
