West Pilbara cricketers beat Port Hedland at Country Week

The West Pilbara Cricket Association kicked off its campaign at the country week championships in Perth on Sunday with a resounding victory over fellow Pilbara cricketers Port Hedland.

Losing the toss was not enough to dampen the spirits of West Pilbara as they began to make early inroads in the Port Hedland batting line up.

It did not take long to make the first strike, an outstanding fielding effort from Jackson Davey whipping the ball in to senior tourer and wicket-keeper Clint Degebrodt to affect a run out.

Opening bowler Craig Nunn (1-9) was the next to strike, delivering an outstanding spell of swing bowling.

Warwick Durack (4-37), not to be out done, set about tearing the heart out of the Port Hedland batting line up, striking regularly in his 10-over spell.

What little resistance there was came from the Port Hedland skipper Phil Hayman (31 not out).

One of only two Port Hedland batsmen to reach double figures, Hayman was stuck at the non-striker's end as Durack went to work.

Unable to develop any substantial partnerships, the Port Hedland innings never got going and came to a close when Michael James (3-17) and Shaun Kelly (1-8) blew away the late order, finishing the innings with a score of 75 after only 22.4 overs.

West Pilbara began their reply against the meagre total in dubious fashion after they lost opener Jackson Davey for a duck.

Matt Nowotny (39) and Matt Ainsbury (17) put together a solid 50-run partnership before Port Hedland were able to strike again.

The wicket of Nowotny began a collapse of the West Pilbara middle order, losing four wickets before they had reached the total, despite the efforts of bowlers John Case (3-47) and Ryan Ibbotson (2-47).

When Ryan Steel (62 not out) and Michael James (37) came together things began to look a bit easier as they were able to score freely, pushing the total for West Pilbara to 6-191 before captain Shane Edwards, striving for a rare outright victory, declared.

To secure the outright win West Pilbara would have to bowl their opposition out again within the total allotted overs for the match.

With 37 overs up their sleeve and a 120-run lead it was slow going early for West Pilbara, as the Port Hedland batsmen found life a little easier the second time around.

Shaun Kelly (3-14) changed all that when he was able to take three wickets in two overs including the Hedland captain's scalp for a duck.

Troy Morrisey (42) provided the bulk of the resistance.

However, it would not be enough to deny the West Pilbara bowlers as they were able to secure the outright win, thrusting them to the top of the C-section.

Other West Pilbara bowlers who enjoyed the conditions in the second innings were James (2-9), Drew Kernaghan (2-45) and Nunn (3-29).