BUSSELTON-MARGARET RIVER'S cricketers are facing relegation to B-Section in Country Week next year after our top team endured a tough time in searing heat in Perth last week.
After defeats at the hands of Geraldton and Peel in their opening two A-Section games on Sunday and Monday last week, Busselton-Margaret River's No. 1 side was defeated by Esperance on Wednesday.
Busselton-Margaret River then lost its semi-final to Upper Great Southern on Thursday, before ultimately losing the relegation final to Eastern Goldfields on Friday.
Against Esperance at Stan Twight Reserve on Wednesday, Busselton-Margaret River compiled 224 in 59.3 overs, with Fraser Oates (54) and Harvey Golding (41) leading the way.
Esperance replied with 2-230 to win with nine overs to spare.
On Thursday at Rosalie Park Busselton-Margaret River could only muster 102 all out, with Ben Lloyd hitting 34, before Upper Great Southern responded with 3-104 to win in just 19.3 overs.
Dylan Tomlinson took 2-37 for Busselton-Margaret River.
In Friday's relegation final at College Park, Eastern Goldfields totalled 193, with Harvey Golding (3-37), Scott Young (3-47) and Elijah Truscott (2-29) getting among the wickets for Busselton-Margaret River.
Busselton-Margaret River's reply of 134 all out included contributions from Fraser Oates (41) and Justin Gilbert (28).
"Hopefully the younger players can take a few positives out of the week," said BMRCA captain Ben Payne after the team returned home at the weekend.
"We dropped away after the first two games, we didn't have great depth in our bowling and things didn't go our way."
Hopefully the younger players can take a few positives out of the week... We dropped away after the first two games... we didn't have great depth in our bowling and things didn't go our way.
- Ben Payne, BMRCA captain
The Busselton-Margaret River local T20 competition continued on Saturday, with one B-Grade and three C-Grade games.
In the solitary B-Grade game played at Barnard Park turf, Margaret River Hawks managed to defend a 20-over of 9-76 (with Karl Rogers taking 4-14 and Ryan Lohr 3-21 for St Marys), before Saints were routed for 66, Chris McLean taking 3-5 and Jordan Stanbury and Danny Weston taking two wickets each for the Hawks.
The highlight of the three C-Grade T20 games on Saturday was an opening partnership of 133 at the Cowaramup Oval between Ben Kirkham (58) and Andrew Cook (53 not out) which took Cowaramup to the brink of their nine-wicket victory against Nannup, who batted first and made a creditable total of 7-134 from 20 overs, with Leigh Guthridge hitting 30 for Nannup.
At Barnard Park, Dunsborough made 4-158 with Tom O'Sullivan hitting 59 runs, and dismissed St Marys for 47, with Tom Reagan taking brilliant figures of 4-5 off three overs for Dunsborough.
At Vasse Playing Fields, Yallingup-Oddbods scored a tight 7-run upset win over Vasse, with Josh Manning the hero for YOBS when he took 5-14 including three wickets in the final over of the game to clinch the victory.
Batting first, YOBS made 9-95 from 20 overs, with Pete Morris taking 3-10 and Murray Gould 3-9 for the home side, and then managed to restrict Vasse to 8-88 from 20 overs.
The two A-Grade games in T20 round two, St Marys v Margaret River Hawks at Barnard Park and Dunsborough v Cowaramup at Dunsborough, were played last night as the first ever Tuesday night fixtures in the Busselton-Margaret River Cricket Association competition.
