WA batting collapses leave them last in Country Championships but bowlers provide bright spots

The WA Country XI endured a difficult run at the National Australian Championships, finishing with just one win to finish in seventh place and miss out on the finals. After splitting results in their first two matches with a loss to the ACT and a win over Queensland, a series of batting collapses saw them struggle to compete for the rest of the tournament. They failed to chase 89 against Victoria, collapsing for 40 and lost 5-8 towards the end of their match against South Australia in a 10-wicket loss. Against Papua New Guinea, Meg Spalding’s 39 was the only score in double figures as they folded for 62 in a chase of 164. In a rain-shortened clash against New South Wales chasing a steep total of 84 in less than 10 overs, a loss of 6-11 including four ducks meant the chase was never on, finishing at 6-40. Captain Janelle Phillips was the best batter for WA with 85 runs at an average of 17 and was 18th-best overall. While the batters struggled, there were some highlights with the ball as Geraldton’s Jo Walker finished with seven wickets at an average of 17 to finish inside the top 10, with South West’s Emily Allen the next best with six wickets at an average of 13. In the men’s competition, WA fared better, finishing in second place behind Victoria after four wins and two losses. Ex-Geraldton star Julian Crudeli had an outstanding tournament, scoring 320 runs with a high of 98 at an average of 53 to finish second on the run-scoring charts. This, coupled with seven wickets at an average of 20 saw him named player of the tournament. He and his brother Nathan, who scored 217 at 36 and took four wickets, were named in the team of the tournament.