Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association representative side to start Country Cup campaign on Sunday

Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association’s representative side will kick off their Country Cup campaign at Harvey Recreation Ground on Sunday against the WA Invitational XI in a rematch of last year’s final. The Invitational XI is comprised of players whose local associations do not feature in the competition as well as players who miss selection for their own sides. A number of South West players starred against their home association as the Blue Swans were hammered by eight wickets in the final of the last edition of the tournament. The format of the Country Cup has changed and is reduced from three match days to two. All four sides in the competition — the BDCA, Invitational XI, Albany and Peel — will converge on Bunbury next month for a pair of T20 games at Forrest Park. Eight cricketers from the region featured as the Country XI started their WA Premier Cricket T20 tournament with a nine-wicket loss to University and a game against Joondalup which was abandoned due to inclement weather. Hay Park’s Michael Tassone was the strongest performer of the group, cracking 50 from 35 deliveries against the Students and 41 from 37 balls against the Centurions. At the weekend, Colts master blaster Murray Goodwin picked up the new season how he left off in the last one — by guiding his side to a seven-wicket win over Dalyellup in Saturday’s men’s first-grade grand final rematch. The veteran walked to the wicket with the game in the balance after his son Ashton was dismissed for 16, leaving his side at 3-45 in pursuit of the visitors’ total of 180. But Goodwin saw the Colts home with 76 not out from 77 balls, sharing an unbroken 137-run fourth-wicket partnership with Tom Buchanan (56 not out from 82 balls) to get them over the line with 31 balls to spare. This weekend a clash between Hay Park and Colts at Hay Park shapes as the pick of the men’s first-grade games, with the Redbacks looking to continue a strong start to their season against the undefeated reigning premiers. Dalyellup will take on Leschenault at Dalyellup College on Saturday and Collie will come up against Marist at Roche Park on Sunday in the other fixtures. The women’s first-grade contests on Sunday will see reigning premiers Donnybrook continue their hunt for the first win of their season against Colts in a rematch of last year’s final at Egan Park and Marist host Leschenault at Forrest Park.