Warnbro’s Mitchell Cowan put on a stunning spell of bowling to tear through Shoalwater Bay’s top order and deliver his side’s second straight win as the Swans defended a measly 81 runs on the back of his efforts on Saturday afternoon.
Cowan was a force as his deliveries dismissed Seals batsmen Nicholas Milligan (four runs), Riley Ward (four), Josh Senior (zero), Sebastian Websdale (zero) and Shane Schnaars (one) all for single-figure totals on his way to a magnificent 5/17 from 9.4 overs.
His form with the ball secured Warnbro what looked to be an unlikely win after the Swans’ batting order fared almost just as poorly as Shoalwater’s.
Sitting in a 2/7 hole after losing Ben Hinson and David Oldfield for a duck and one run respectively, the outlook was bleak until contributions from Ben Doudle (23), Travis Gordon (18) and Cowan (21) helped give life to the innings.
But ducks to Jake Cassidy, Alex Cowan and Matthew Elwell put a huge dent in the Swans’ hopes of breaching triple figures as a unit, as they were ousted on 81 after Websdale dominated with the ball claiming a spectacular 6/14 from his 10 overs (five of which were maidens).
Shoalwater went into their run chase looking the likely victors, but they couldn’t overcome the nightmare start Cowan forced them into as they found themselves at 6/19 before Liam Richardson pitched in with a game-high knock of 29.
Richardson’s late spurt almost got the Seals over the line, but Alex Cowan was able to run out Seth Kennedy ending Shoalwater’s chase at 75 and gifting Warnbro the win, their third on the year.
Mandurah def. Singleton
Mandurah boosted their premiership credentials with a win on the road over Singleton on Saturday.
Opting to bat first, the visitors received solid contributions from Matt Jenkinson (31), Rhys Donald (36), Sach In (28) and Paul Okey (36 not out) on their way to 9/164 from their allotted overs.
The score left the door open for Singleton to cause an upset, and a half century to Brad Ranford (57) gave them reason to think they’d be the first team to hand Mandurah a loss.
But In’s big day out with the ball (5/37) saw the Irwinians ousted agonisingly close to a win, going down on 158.
The loss sees Singleton slip from the top four.
Pinjarra def. Hillman
Hillman’s score of 123 stood no chance of fending off a Pinjarra side boosted by a stunning opening partnership from Jamie Lee and Jake Foley in round nine.
The Hornets were cleaned up after electing to open with the bat, despite solid outings from Ben Voges (31) and Alwin Varghese (29).
Lee (62 not out) combined with Foley (46) to put on a 95-run opening stand, helping the Tigers cruise to the victory in just the 17th over.
The win moves Pinjarra ahead of Singleton and into the top four, while Hillman continues to languish at the bottom of the table.
Waroona def. South Mandurah
Waroona kept in touch with the ladder’s top two after taking care of business against South Mandurah over the weekend.
The Warriors were buoyed by Dan Abel’s 48 runs after winning the toss and opting to bat first, along with Daniel Dodds’ 36 and Stirling Moody’s 25 helping them to a 157 total in the face of some brilliant bowling from Souths’ Ben Hoffman (4/18 from 10 overs).
Brad Holmes (33) gave the Falcons some early hope in their chase, but Mitchell Smith (3/16) and Zac Moody (2/12) stunted the home side’s chances as Waroona came away with a victory.
The Warriors remain one win behind Baldivis, who reside in second.
White Knights Baldivis def. Halls Head
Greg Roos powered Baldivis to their seventh straight win with a half century against Halls Head on Saturday.
The in-form all-rounder went for 51 runs, teaming up with Dylan Gray (35) and Stefan Botha (26) to help the White Knights to 186 runs after choosing to bat first.
Halls Head’s Leigh Burns scored 59 in reply as his team attempted to cause an upset, but Roos (2/16) and Mitch Brown (5/43) performed well enough with the ball to ensure Baldivis’ hot streak would live on, ending the chase at 161.
The White Knights remain in second on the ladder with an 8-1 record.