Weatherald cuts loose for rampant Redbacks
TERRITORIAN Jake Weatherald hit a career-best ton as South Australia hammered Cricket Australia’s XI to set a record-high domestic one-day cup score of 7-420.
Opener Weatherald hit 141 off 104 balls and with Callum Ferguson (154 off just 113 balls) combined for a partnership 225 for the second wicket off just 29.2 overs, the state’s thirdhighest ever.
South Australia earned a bonus-point win with a 102run winning margin at Hurstville Oval in Sydney, helping keep their one-day cup hopes alive.
South Australia’s 7-420 off their 50 overs, surpassed Queensland’s tally of 4-405 set in 2004 as the competition record.
There was a seemingly endless parade of sixes – there were 16 in total during the Redbacks’ innings.
“We didn’t have the record in the back of our minds, but it is certainly pleasing,” Ferguson said. “Whenever you make a start you want to make a big score, and we have a real emphasis on that in the Redbacks camp, so that was really pleasing.”
However, the CA XI’s misery was partly of their own doing with Ferguson and Weatherald both dropped twice.
Weatherald revealed the Redbacks batsmen targeted a short boundary on one side of what is already a compact ground.
“It is a great wicket with one small boundary so it was going to be a big scoring game for both teams,” he said.
Western Australia have kept alive their domestic oneday cup cricket hopes thanks to a tough four-wicket win over Tasmania in a result which effectively ends the Tigers’ title ambitions.
WA survived a tense finish to reach 6-268 and surpass Tasmania’s 8-267 with nine balls to spare at North Sydney Oval yesterday.