Sport
28 February, 2024
Warriors one-day champions
The West Wimmera Warriors claimed the A Grade Horsham Cricket Association one-day championship on Sunday at Horsham City Oval with a commanding 88-run win over the Homers.
After winning the toss and batting, the Warriors got off to a steady start with Brad Alexander, 18 and Jobe Dickinson, 24 getting starts before falling to Gibson Perry and Joey Nagorcka respectively.
Nathan Alexander came to the crease and with help from Mitchell Dahlenburg, 27, and Trevor Polkinghorne, 24, he made 93 which included six sixes that guided them to 214 after their 45 overs.
It was a disaster start for the Homers in reply, losing both Monty Wynne and Logan Millar for ducks and with Patrick Mills, 7, and Adam Atwood, 12, getting out cheaply, it was always going to be a tough task chasing the total down.
Luke Miller, 21, and Chaminda Gamage, 26, tried, but the bowling was too good led by Brad Alexander and Xavier Bone, claiming 4/26 and 3/35 respectively as they bowled them out for 126 in the 34th over.
Nathan Alexander was named man of the match.
Warriors captain Jeremy Weeks said he was proud of the team for sticking with their plans.
"We had a bit of a wake-up call on Saturday against Lubeck Murtoa," he said.
"I spoke before the game about taking time with the bat and consolidating the innings and everyone stuck to the plans with both bat and ball."
Weeks said Bone's spell with the ball was instrumental.
"Xavier bowled well. He bowled six overs straight up and he was excellent," he said.
"He and Nathan set the tone early and they couldn't recover from the pressure."
The Warriors will now set their sights on the two-day competition. They are currently sitting second, on equal wins with the Homers. Two weeks ago they easily accounted for the Homers and will have a lot of confidence on the back of this win.
Weeks said that whilst the confidence is there, it's still a few weeks off and anything can happen.
"The two-day grand final is the game we want to win, the one everyone cherishes the most," he said.
"It is going to be a bit of a fight for third and fourth between the Tigers, Bullants and Saints.
"We will have confidence, but all teams have players that can take the game away from you.
"I said to Adam after the game that he has done well with a good list. They have a good-quality team and can easily bounce back. It is going to be tough, but we are aiming for the double."