First Grade
Willetton 5-266 (Fawcett 2/25, Carroll 2/54) def. Wanneroo 133 (Varsani 40, Billington 31)
The 1st XI faced Willeton, aiming to carry momentum from the T20s and regain traction in the white-ball formats. Sent into the field, we bowled on a wicket offering some carry at one end and rolling conditions at the other. After a slow start, Maffa struck a key wicket courtesy of some “sweeping practice,” helping us regain control after a quick start by their batters. Spin proved the most effective on the day, with Maff and Fawc leading the charge in the middle overs. As we picked up a couple of crucial wickets heading into the death overs, the goal of restricting them below 280 became achievable. Thanks to excellent death bowling from Poults and Slug—and despite some poor luck—we held them to 266 off their 50 overs. Standout figures included M. Carroll (2/54) and J. Fawcett (2/25).
Chasing a competitive target, Stumpy and Huddo opened the innings. Unfortunately, Huddo fell in the first over to some sharp bowling. Stumpy and Fawc built a promising partnership before Fawc was run out attempting to take on the fine-leg fielder. Stumpy followed shortly after, despite a solid opening effort. Wickets fell steadily, though Aryan showed good form with the bat, supported by some powerful striking. Caiden and Deon sought to see off their leg-spinner to attack in the final overs, but Caiden fell on the last ball of the spell, triggering another collapse. The Roos were bowled out for 133, with notable contributions from H. Stumpers (30 off 46), A. Varsani (40 off 43), and D. Billington (31 off 46). There are plenty of positives to take into next week. The boys are putting in the hard work, and improvements continue to show. On to Mt Lawley!
Second Grade
Wanneroo 166 (M Slattery 35) def. by Willeton 8/239 (Brown 3/35, Addy 3/39)
The mighty two’s played Willetton on the weekend started well by winning the toss and electing to bowl on a green wicket, Willetton got off to a hot start as they were 1 for 80 in the first ten, shout out to Jordan Slattery for getting the first wicket. We bowled very well for the rest of the innings only keeping them to a few boundaries in the last ten, they made 236.
We then came out ready to go with Pesh (Brayden Quinn) getting the runs started and Mitch at the other end for a great start to the innings, we came out 1/60 in the first ten, and were looking good but Willetton stuck to their game and bowled well to have us all out for 160 an unfortunate way to lose but we get better every week. Some shout outs are, Tristan for his first game in the mcgoos, and Owen brown for bowling the house down.
Third Grade
Willetton 131(Walter 6/15, Fryer 3/22) def. by Wanneroo 199 (Williams 75, Fryer 46)
Wanneroo have won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that proved to be a wise one. The opening partnership of Marbo (Maher) and Sniff (Williams) provided a solid foundation, giving the team a comfortable start. They rotated the strike well, finding the boundary when necessary, and kept the scoreboard ticking. All was well before we saw a few wickets drop losing our momentum in the game and slowing our run rate until Donny fryer entered the game at a crucial stage and provided the innings with much-needed acceleration, smashing a blistering 46 off just a few balls with a few big sixes to elevate the total. However, it was Sniff (Williams) who anchored the innings, playing a composed knock of 75 runs. His well-paced innings guided the team to a competitive total of 199, setting Willetton a challenging target.
In reply, Wanneroo’s bowlers were on fire. Tommy walker and Donny fryer opening up with some tight bowling, but it was Donny who was excellent with the ball, taking 3 vital wickets and applying constant pressure with a game changing hanger from John Walter in slips. Walter who soon stole the show with a match-winning performance, with the ball claiming a remarkable 6 wickets from only 15 runs and an almost hat-trick on his birthday, putting Willetton on the back foot throughout their chase. Despite a valiant effort from Willetton, they were unable to match the intensity of Wanneroo’s bowling attack, eventually falling short of the target 199 being bowled out for 131. All in all, It was a fantastic day out for the unc’s of Wanneroo holding 1st place on the ladder going into the next round.
Fourth Grade
Wanneroo 176 (Glamuzina 52) def. Willetton 114 (Rotham 4/22, Fitzmaurice 3/11)
Coming off their first loss of the season the bad boys were eager to get a big win against the arch nemesis Willetton and to break the post-Christmas curse. The archaeologist Liam won the toss and sent the roos in to bat. Xander and Tom got off to a great start with a 72 first wicket partnership. The boys were cruising until Tom got out for a good 27. After that, lots of wickets started to fall for not many runs. Throughout all this Xander went on to make a steady 52. Ollie showed some good batting making a quick 25 runs but unfortunately couldn’t get a few more. The last 4 wickets fell not too long after and the roos were all out for 176 in 43 overs.
They were going to have to bowl well against a bolstered Willo 4s team to break the curse. Opening the bowling, Liam took an early one which set Willeton on the back foot straight away. Frotham did what Frotham does, taking 2 early wickets from the other end leaving them 3/27. Tight bowling from Alex Hardiman and Fitzmaurice slowed the run rate up a lot with some more wickets falling. Hayden picked up 2 wickets in his 6 over spell and the game looked to be won for the roos. Rotham came on bowling “spin” and somehow picked up another 2 poles before he was bowled out with a good 4 wicket haul (2 pace + 2 spin). Fitta came through and took a nice caught and bowled to claim his 3-for and the dragons were all out for 114 left defeated and sad with a long drive home.