Whitney gallant in defeat

Hay Park captain Jono Whitney could not drag WA Country to a second-consecutive Commonwealth Bank Australian Country Cricket Championships title, after the side suffered a final-round loss to champions South Australia.

With both sides sitting atop the ladder heading into their clash on Monday, it was down to who could get the win and be crowned champions.

WA won the toss and elected to bat, but things did not go their way, with just Whitney (54 not out) putting up a fight as the reigning champions posted just 126 in less than 40 overs.

But WA put up a fight early in South Australia’s innings, with early wickets from Hayden Burling and Matthew Jenkinson giving WA hope and reducing SA to 2-18.

Unfortunately for WA, South Australian opener Ben Smith scored a solid 53, despite WA continuing to take wickets and bring the match down to the wire.

But with just six wickets down, South Australia reached the total and walked away with the championship.

After victories to Queensland and Victoria, WA finished fourth in their defending campaign.

Whitney’s 54 was his second half century of the tournament, after scoring 73 in the first game against New South Wales.

Whitney scored 187 runs for the tournament at an average of 37.4.

His Hay Park teammate, Ross Knoll, did not fare much better, scoring just 120 runs at an average of 24 opening the batting for WA.

In the women’s division, WA reached the semi-finals of the inaugural competition, but posted just 76 runs as the Northern Territory ran away with the win.