Western Australia defied the odds to end their 11-year domestic one-day cup drought with a 64-run win over NSW in Sydney.
At 2-125 NSW seemed on track to haul in WA’s 6-255 against a depleted attack, following a century partnership between Shane Watson and Kurtis Patterson.
The Warriors’ attack suffered a major blow with the side’s equal leading wicket-taker Joel Paris exiting the field in just his second over with a calf injury, leaving part-timers Ashton Turner and Adam Voges to fill the void.
However, the WA attack, led by Jason Behrendorff (5-27), remained disciplined throughout the innings.
Test allrounder Watson top-scored for the Blues with a comfortable and chanceless 83 off 100 balls, including three sixes, in just his second match back from a five-month injury lay-off.
Watson and Kurtis Patterson (44) put on 115 for the third wicket after the Blues had been teetering at 2-10.
WA brought pace spearhead Nathan Coulter-Nile back into the attack to try and stem the tide but it was Behrendorff that ended the partnership bowling Patterson.
Ashton Agar had Watson out, when he feathered one to the wicket-keeper, and when Ryan Carters fell in the next over it marked the beginning of the end for NSW.
“Joel (Paris) is a massive part of why we made the final, and it is a real shame for him,” Voges said.
“I had to shuffle the bowlers around a bit, but we had enough options to cover him.
“Watto (Watson) played beautifully and nearly stole the game away from us.
“We always felt that we were one wicket away, and if we could break that partnership we would probably gain the ascendancy again.
“Our batting has clicked at the back-end of the tournament, and our batting has been fantastic the whole time.
An intelligent 96 from Michael Klinger was the cornerstone of the WA innings. Klinger was only denied a century after being dismissed in the final over thanks to a stunning outfield catch from Blues fast-bowler Pat Cummins.
WA’s top-four all made important contributions as they reached 6-255 off their allotted overs.
Marcus Harris got the innings off to a flier with a breezy 33 off 22 deliveries, while there were important contributions also from Craig Simmons (47) and captain Voges (40).
“It has been a long wait,” Voges said of the title-drought.
“It has been ten years since we won. I have played most of the games in those ten years so this win is very sweet.
“It is a really exciting time for WA cricket and a great start to the season.”
