BDCA 2023: Blue Swans persevere against Peel following early stalemate

The Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association’s reputation as the best regional team in WA received another shot in the arm on Sunday, after they defeated Peel by three wickets in the Belt Up Country Cup final.

Held at Cresswell Park in Swanbourne, the Blue Swans successfully chased down 183 with three overs to spare.

This triumph means that in the space of 13 months, the BDCA have secured consecutive A-section titles at senior country week, along with this country cup grand final.

However for lengthy stages of this game, the Blue Swans did not have the game on their own terms.

Although they were reluctant to play aggressively at times, Peel openers Josh Rudge (53 off 107 balls) and Brad Williams (31 off 80 balls) did their best to stifle the BDCA’s creativity and flow.

After beginning with pace courtesy of Zane Verhaaf and Jacob Wintle, Blue Swans skipper Blair Malatesta elected to throw spinners Tim Hutchison (1-16 off 10 overs) and Brayden Clarke into the fray, in a bid to motor through overs and halt the run-rate further.

So often in cricket, one wicket can be all that is needed for the floodgates to open.

Sure enough, the momentum of Rudge and Williams’ 92-run opening stand came to a halt in 30th over, after the latter miscued a shot high into the air, with youngster Cooper Clarke-Dehring patiently gloving the catch.

Once the Blue Swans had this breakthrough, the game changed. As their belief surfaced, Peel’s offensive mojo dissipated — and they were unable to rekindle the same rhythm for the remainder of the innings.

Chasing 183 for victory, the BDCA were good enough to get the job done, although quality bowling from seamer Adam France (2-40 off 10 overs) and spinner Daniel Abel — who only conceded 11 runs off his first seven overs — did force them to hang tough at times.