Ryan and Riaz bowling clinic powers Karratha Kats to victory in West Pilbara Cricket Association T20 comp

A clinical bowling performance from Craig Ryan and Haseeb Riaz led the Karratha Kats to a 99-run victory over Pegs Creek Crabs in round two of the West Pilbara Cricket Association twenty over competition. Kats batted first at the Karratha Leisureplex Oval on February 4, with openers Jackson Davey (32) and Alex Devitt (42) getting the side off to a quick start. After Davey was dismissed for a quickfire 32 off 25 balls, Dylan Lewis came to the crease and belted his way to a half century with three fours and three sixes. Some late power hitting from the Kats’ middle order helped lift the side to 4-168 from their 20 overs, with Lewis top scoring on 52. Pegs Creek’s run chase was never able to get off the ground, with Kats tearing through their top order with ease to have the Crabs in all sorts of trouble at 5-31. In the end, Pegs Creek were skittled for 69 runs, with Kats winning by 99 runs. Ryan was the standout bowler for Karratha. taking four wickets for just seven runs while teammate Riaz bagged three wickets for 10 runs. In the other round two games, an unbeaten 97 from Muhammad Khan steered Nickol Hawks to victory over Dampier Taverners at Windy Ridge Oval. Taverners batted first, making their way to 7-141 on the back of a fighting innings by Jayden Lagana (36) and some late power hitting by Marcus O’Brien (48). In reply, opener Khan blasted 97 from 57 deliveries, including 11 fours and five sixes, to power his side to 5-147 and a five-wicket victory in the 17th over. A classy spell from Taverners bowler Daniel Harding (4-27) made the Hawks struggle in the chase. Wickham had a tough round, pulling double duty on February 5 and facing off against Rec Club and Baynton Lions in back-to-back games. Rec Club (6-93) proved too much for Wickham (8-92), defeating their opponents by four wickets in the 18th over. The contest between Lions and Wickham went down to the wire, with Wickham falling just four runs short of the required total. Lions finished their innings on 6-100, with Nick Hegan making 34, before a battered and bruised Wickham clawed their way to 5-96 after 20 overs. Jason Mallon (42) top-scored for Wickham, with teammate Brooke Ball making 17.