Mandurah will go into a crucial last-round clash against Warnbro chock-full of confidence after they toppled the league-leading Singleton to remain the top four on Saturday.
Baldivis’ win over Pinjarra could have seen Mandurah fall from their finals position, but the team rallied to overcome the top-of-the-table Singleton with a spirited batting performance.
Singleton won the toss and took to the crease first, but their shaky innings came to an end in the 47th over as they were dismissed on 141 runs.
Mandurah looked to be in complete control when they picked up the bat, with prolific performances from Ian Lattimore and Anuj Dal securing them their second straight win.
Lattimore carved out a team-high 84 runs as he and Brendan Okey tallied an opening partnership of 96, while Dal followed up his knock of 143 last week with an unbeaten 78.
The powerhouse scores gifted Mandurah a comfortable win over the best team in the competition as finished their 50 overs 3/222.
Mandurah now only need to overcome the last-placed Warnbro to ensure they play finals.
White Knights Baldivis will be hot on their hammer though, after their win over Pinjarra kept their win/loss record even with Mandurah’s.
Both sides go into the final round of the year with eight wins, six losses and three draws next to their names, but the task in front of Baldivis appears considerably more difficult than Mandurah’s.
Coming from outside the top four, they’re going to need to beat Singleton and hope for a Mandurah loss.
Shoalwater Bay saw their grip on the finals loosen after being thumped by South Mandurah, but the side is still in good shape to make the post-season.
They currently sit in third but three straight losses mean they aren’t mathematically a certainty to make it. However, it would take a significant loss for them to be bumped out.
South Mandurah on the other hand will need a significant win and losses to both Mandurah and Baldivis if they are to make it in.
Their finals hopes would have been crushed by a loss to Shoalwater, but Jesse Buck’s stunning knock of 144 led them to a big victory.
In the remaining games of round 17, Waroona was able to comfortably beat Hillman while Warnbro claimed their second victory of the season with a narrow win over Halls Head.