Country week cricket championships: Geraldton stumbles at the starting blocks as title defence gets under way

Geraldton’s start to its country week A-section title defence didn’t go to plan, as Eastern Goldfields knocked over the reigning champions by five wickets on Sunday. In his maiden coin toss as country week captain, Kade Gillingham won the toss and sent his side — which had undergone some major changes in the lead-up to the tournament — into bat. Geraldton struggled to build a solid partnership with the bat, leaving Eastern Goldfields to chase 158 runs in the one-day match at Stevens Reserve. Openers Ben O’Brien and Adam Goacher spent the first seven overs getting settled at the crease, rotating the strike and setting the foundations until the partnership ended during the seventh over. From there, O’Brien was left to carry the bat through most of the innings, as wickets fell around him. Ultimately, his hard work paid off, bringing up a well-made 53-runs from 118 deliveries before being caught off Harry Merritt-Blann’s bowling. Coming in at seven, Callum Marquis contributed a much-needed 42 runs, which helped boost Geraldton’s final score to a more competitive 8-157 after 50 overs. Eastern Goldfield’s bowling kept Geraldton at bay, with even our top scorers struggling to find the rope with only seven boundaries hit which came from Marquis and O’Brien. Harry Merritt-Blann (3-28) and Graham Kennedy (2-16) were best of the bowlers. Geraldton’s bowlers looked confident early on, with both openers falling in the first seven overs for 16 runs, and suddenly pressure was on for the opposition. However, Eastern Goldfield’s Patrick Gorman and Graham Kennedy got quickly settled at the crease and made a 107 run partnership, putting their side on track for victory. An answer came for Geraldton in Josh Delacy, who claimed both their wickets LBW within the space of three overs. However, the damage had already been done, as Eastern Goldfields chased down the total in 44.2 overs, finishing 5-158. Geraldton’s best bowlers were DeLacy (3-29) and Zak Williamson (2-36), while O’Brien bowled a tight 10 overs with an economy rate of 2.20. In C-section, Geraldton claimed an impressive 95-run win over Wyalkatchem at Brittania Reserve. Geraldton’s Cody Doran elected to bat after he won the toss and his side made 8-222. Jake Poletti (33) did well as an opener with quick runs from Nate Thomas-Magee (40 off 44 balls) and Alex Reynolds (49 off 50 balls), while opposition bowlers Lewis Jones and Brady Garner both took 2-37 with the ball. Wyalkatchem replied with 127 as Cameron Jones (34) and Blake Meston (30) led their batting but the bowlers ruled after Antonio Paradella bowled their best batsman Tim Siegert cheaply. Mitch McAuliffe (3-17) was superb as he ripped up the middle order and Tom Witt (2-20) and Paul Simmons (2-23) also shone. At the time of print, Geraldton’s A-section side was playing their second match against Upper Great Southern, while C-section was facing Avon.