Western wunderkind Brock Larance lit up the Scots School Main Oval during Monday’s opening round of the 2018 Bradman Cup.
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In typically bullish fashion, the Dubbo blaster smashed a round one half-century at better than a run-a-ball to help guide the hosts past Riverina’s total of 5-175 with relative ease.
Larance whacked 84 off 59 balls in the chase, bringing up his 50 with a six, off just 28 balls, to see Western home with seven wickets left in the sheds and a touch over 10 overs left to spare.
Western under 16s coach Trent Hemsworth was delighted with his side’s victory, one set up in the first 17 overs of the day.
“I think we started it off with our first session. It set the tone,” Hemsworth said, Western losing the toss and fielding on day one.
“They only had 88 runs, and that first session made it difficult for them. They really battled to then accelerate late in the innings.”
As Hemsworth said, Western tied up the Riverina openers.
Aditha Jayasuriya battled to rotate the strike during his innings of 16 off 90 balls, while not one Riverina batter was able to push the run rate higher.
I think we started it off with our first session. It set the tone.
- Western coach Trent Hemsworth
None of the Riverina’s top six batted with a strike rate above 80 runs per 100 balls.
Tim Jenkins was the pick the visiting batsmen, though, his 45 crucial before being the last wicket to fall as Riverina reached a competitive mark of 175.
The wickets were shared among Western’s bowlers, with Tanvir Singh (1-39), Ben Mitchell (1-28), Mitchell Ashford (1-32) and Ryan Dunn (1-20) all picking up poles while Larance’s spin yielded a tight 0/24 from eight.
Western started its pursuit of victory a little shakily after losing Bailey Brien for a two-ball duck, but partnerships then guided the hosts home.
Opener Blake Weymouth (35) and first drop Sam Hall (23) put on 51 for the second wicket before Weymouth and Larance added 57 for the third wicket.
An unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 66 between Larance and Ben Mitchell (23 not out) then guided Western to the opening round victory.
“We started well. We had a targett of 50 at drinks and we hit that,” Hemsworth added.
It’s the perfect start to Western’s campaign to win the Hogg Silver Shield - the Country Zone Championship, with the final placings in the Bradman Cup determining the award winner.
After Western claimed last week’s Kookaburra Cup, the current standings are: Western 30, Central Coast 28, Riverina 27, Newcastle 24, Central Northern 23, North Coastal 22, ACT Southern 19, Illawarra 13. Western plays ACT Southern on Tuesday at Morse Park (2) from 10am.