Marist begin BDCA T20 season with back to back wins
Marist got their BDCA Men’s T20 1st Grade title defence off to a good start, winning their both their games of the opening day.
They beat Harvey-Benger by 27 runs in their morning fixture thanks to a starring knock by Brayden Clarke (72 off 55).
Clarke was supported well by Drew Thomas who hit a steady but unbeaten 41 off 46 balls as Harvey-Benger tried eight bowling options.
Chasing 135 for victory, many of Harvey-Benger’s batters failed to get starts with the exception of Mahdi Saleem (40 off 41) but his effort was only enough to get the team to 6-108, well short of the target.
Marist’s second game was against Eaton and was a replay of last year’s grand final, which ended once again the way of Marist by 51 runs.
In response, Marist’s bowlers ran riot, skittling Eaton for 58 with Scott Fisher’s figures of 3-8 and Ben Martison’s 2-5 being the pick of the bunch.
Eaton’s loss to Marist was their second defeat of the day, going down earlier to Dalyellup by six wickets.
In that game, Eaton were on the back foot to begin with, losing both openers for a golden duck as Riley Mammone (4-15) ran through the batting order and Adam Bilston made scoring tough with with 2-5 off four overs.
It was a steady chase for Dalyellup who reached the target with 52 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.
Hay Park also had an unbeaten Sunday, taking care of Leschenault with a six-wicket win thanks to Joe Williams’ figures 4-15 including two maidens.
In their pursuit of 78, it wasn’t all smooth sailing but Hay Park never looked like losing the game.
Each of the top four batters made more than 10 runs and in the context of the small chase that was all that was needed.
Cody Ryan (37 off 34) was the only Dalyellup batter to be able to take it to Hay Park’s bowlers, but Jonathan Calver’s 4-15 kept the rest at bay.
Hay Park’s batters were in a hurry to get the job done as Kris Miller (48* off 32) and Mathew Thomas (52* off 28) steered their side home with ease.
Despite their loss in the morning, Leschenault picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and demolished Harvey-Benger by 10-wickets.
Harvey-Benger were bowled out for just 72 as their batters found it tough going.
Tyne Dodds finished with an economy of two from his four overs and Isaac Evans picked up two wickets without conceding a run from one over.
In response, Nicholaas Le Roux (55* off 23) battered six fours and three sixes along side Dodds (19* off 18) to chase the total down in 6.5 overs.
The results leave Hay Park and Marist undefeated in the top -two spots while Dalyellup and Lescenault sit with a win and a loss each.
Eaton and Harvey-Benger are both yet to get a win.
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