Wickham wins 40-over cricket final

The Wickham Wallabies have won the West Pilbara Cricket Association 40-over premiership after a victory over Karratha Kats at Wickham Oval, capping off a stellar season in which they did not lose a game.

Wickham took on the Kats in the grand final on Saturday night, where the Wallabies were keen to avenge their 2018 final loss to the Karratha team.

The Kats won the toss and elected to bat first in the hot conditions.

Wickham’s opening bowling pair of Craig Nunn (2-14) and Brooke Ball (1-22) got their team off to the perfect start by reducing the Kats to 3-7 after five overs.

The Kats then held steady with Mitch Inglis and Dean Slattery putting on 37 runs before Lachlan Smith (1-14) removed Slattery for 17 just before the drinks break.

After the break, the Wallabies were able to strike, with Michael Bunting (2-29) removing Inglis (24) and Henry Smith (0) in consecutive deliveries to leave the Kats at 6-59.

This brought Geoff Spence (25) and Tom Lewis together, with the pair adding 21 before Daniel Carse was able to remove Lewis for five and the rest of the Kats line-up to finish with 4-7 off his 5.2 overs.

With the Kats only posting a small total of 96, Wickham’s opening batters Scott Atkinson and Carse got off to a flying start, clearing the boundary with ease and taking 39 runs off the first three overs.

The Kats were able to strike by removing Atkinson, who had scored 24 off 9 balls, and soon after Brad Rixom for four to leave the Wallabies at 2-64.

When Shane Edwards (12 not out) joined Carse in the middle, they were able to lead Wickham to an eight-wicket win in the 13th over.

Carse was named player of the match for his 4-7 and his unbeaten 56 off 48.

The win capped off an unbeaten 40-over season for Wickham.

It also ended the Kats’ long-running winning streak of recent years, which saw them claim the past three 40-over premierships.