St Mary’s hold off Hawks

St Mary’s Cricket Club escaped with a hard-fought victory over the Margaret River Hawks in the Busselton Margaret River Cricket Association A-grade T20 on Sunday at Stuart Bovell Park.

Thanks to some tight bowling and a couple of late run-outs, the home side held on, with man of the match Daniel Hatton taking 2 -16 and scoring 62 with the blade.

Spin was a real issue for the Saints, with Hawks left-armer Rumesh Silva claiming 3-10 and a maiden from his four overs, all of which came against the top order.

Only one other batsman reached double figures, with British import Joe Lowe scoring a handy 19 to create the partnership of the day with Hatton.

After Lowe was caught, the Saints looked in trouble at 6-77, but Hatton steadied the ship, with Chris Massey (9) watching on at the non-strikers end.

The home side posted 9-114 off their full 20 overs.

The thrilling match took another turn as Margaret River opener Chris McLean started brilliantly on his way to 48.

The visitors were in control at 3-88, but when Kade Dittmar was dismissed by Wayne Thackrah, the Hawks’ 50-run partnership between Dittmar and McLean was broken and the match was set for a tight finish.

All-rounder Lowe continued to impress with the ball, taking the next two important wickets on his way to 2-15 off three overs.

The Saints then tightened the screws in the field, with youngster Massey seizing an opportunity for a run-out in the penultimate over during some miscommunication between Hawks teammates Tristan Mugford and Michael Earl.

Earl was also run out in the same over, with with the Hawks only managing 19 more runs after the stellar partnership between McLean and Dittmar, finishing 9-108. St Mary’s club president and fast bowler Ben Mattock said the Saints bowled well after a slow start.

“The boys got a bit excited and we were 5-20 early but luckily we were able to post a defendable total on a slower than expected wicket,” he said.

Looking forward to a rematch tomorrow on Margaret River’s home turf, there are still some question marks over the top order for the Saints, while the Hawks will look to bounce back after their tail failed to wag.