Taverners 1 triumph in a weekend of close cricket

The West Pilbara Cricket Association men’s T20 competition returned at the weekend for round two with some nail-biting matches. Dampier Taverners 1 hosted Wickham Wallabies on Friday night at Windy Ridge Oval, with the Wallabies keeping it tight early and picking up a couple of wickets. James O’Brien and Craig Leknys built a partnership and steadied for Taverners, who finished on 7-115 after their 20 overs. The Wallabies’ chase didn’t start well, losing regular wickets. However, Brad Rixom held them together with 69no. Going into the last over Wallabies need four runs while Taverners required three wickets. Leknys came on for the Taverners and took 3-1 off five balls in the last over to bowl the Wallabies out. Nickol Hawks hosted Pegs Creek Crabs, with the Hawks picking up two early wickets. The Crabs went on to score 124 with the loss of nine wickets. The Hawks started their chase well but once the Crabs got into the swing of it they were able to stop the flow of runs and take more wickets. It came down to the last over with the Hawks needing four runs for the win, which they were able to do. Rec Club hosted Dampier Taverners 2,with Rec Club off to a fast start before Taverners 2 picked up a couple of wickets. Marcus Goddard was a stand-out, scoring 89no off 40 balls with nine sixes. Rec Club made 4-182 off 20 overs. The Taverners’ chase started well with Brad Goes making 30 before Rec Club took four quick wickets. Jesse Adams and Leroy McCawley stopped the flow of wickets for a while but it wasn’t enough as Taverners 2 ended their 20 overs on 6-139. In the final game, the Lions hosted the Karratha Kats. The Kats lost three early wickets before Elliott Lawrie and Matthew Cust put together a strong partnership. But once the Lions broke the partnership they were able to slow the scoring. Kats ended the innings at 9-108. Kats started well with the ball taking two early wickets and keeping the runs down. Vipan Rajput and Shamsher Singh got the Lions within striking distance before the Kats were able to break through again and get the game down to the last over. The Lions needed eight runs and were able to reach the target off the second-last ball to claim victory.