Great Southern Cricket Association U16s fall short after brave campaign to reach country week grand final

The Great Southern Cricket Association’s under-16 side made the pool A grand final at the CSBP junior country week, topping off a successful week in Perth, but fell short of securing the title. Playing in the B competition, they reached the showpiece finale after battling through five round-robin matches against quality opposition before falling short against West Pilbara at Rosalie Park on January 9. GSCA president Jack Batchelor said he was proud of the team but had hoped they could turn a week’s hard work into a golden finish. “We were good the whole week and I think it was just one bad two-hour spell which cost us the grand final,” he said. “The kids had an awesome week with lots of great performances. “Making a grand final like that shows the strength of junior cricket in the Great Southern, and was a big leap in the right direction.” GSCA put West Pilbara into bat and did well to restrict them to 106 all out after 46.1 overs of the one-day contest. Only opener Reeve Sheldon (33) and Jackson Newick (20) made an impression while batting, as Callum Lang (3-6) and Zane Pettit (3-12) did major damage with the ball. Jethro Wright picked up two wickets, and Jayden Jones one as GSCA put themselves in a great position. Unfortunately, the GSCA reply got off to the worst of starts, with Theodore Ferns and Harrison Woithe both dismissed for ducks, and although Adam Edwards (13) and Jones (17) got the ball rolling, Thomas Dennis, Zane Pettit and Nate Kowald all went without scoring. Max Clegg, coming in at No.7, made 19 but by the time he arrived, Great Southern were 7-59 and staring defeat in the face. They eventually succumbed for 74, with West Pilbara’s Aditya Shelke the happiest man on the field, having collected 5-11 for the eventual champions. It was a shame for the week to end that way, as GSCA had enjoyed a three-wicket win over Warren-Blackwood, a seven-wicket victory over West Pilbara, and a three-wicket win over Albany and Districts. GSCA just lost out in the fourth round to Esperance but walloped Bunbury and Districts in their final pool game, reaching 6-243 after Bunbury were all out for 129. Star contributions included Thomas Dennis’ unbeaten 53 against ADCA, and Ferns’ 86 against Bunbury. Ferns finished as Great Southern’s leading run scorer with 199 for the week at an average of 39.8.