BDCA 2023: Marist display tremendous grit to record morale-boosting win over traditional rival

Marist knew heading into last Saturday’s clash against Colts at the Bunbury Recreation Ground that a big performance was imperative.

Aside from a victory keeping their top-four hopes alive, mixed form in the T20 competition was less than ideal for this talented Blues team.

And as is so often the case in cricket, the little things often pay off — a trend which punctuated the 62-run win by Kyle Davis’s men.

Despite going into the contest without quality up and comer Cooper Clarke-Dehring, the Blues welcomed back Brayden Clarke and Cory Fitt back into the team, which gave them an added layer of bite across all phases of the game.

Winning the toss and sending the visitors into bat, Colts skipper Josh Topliss elected to freshen things up, with bowler Julius Sumerauer opening from the Symmons Street end — an end Topliss not only typically bowls from, but also an area which generates him a hatful of wickets.

The Marist opening pair of Davis (23 off 51 balls) and Haydn Slodecki patiently played themselves in, with the skipper getting off the mark after facing his 20th delivery.

This somewhat broke the shackles, with Davis belting two boundaries in the space of three deliveries from Topliss in the following over, which drew plenty of cheers from his teammates in the pavilion.

Gradually, the home side began to make some inroads, with the introduction of silky spinner Cruize Ciallella — recently picked in the national men’s country XI — claiming the prized wicket of Clarke close to drinks.

With time running out in their innings, and aware every run could potentially count at the end of the day, Shawn Gillies (77 off 114 balls) and his teammates scampered for runs at every opportunity.

This willingness to take the game on ensured the visitors finished on 7-156, a score which could be defended if their bowling was pinpoint.

In their run chase, Colts crashed to 3-12 inside six overs, one of these wickets an uncharacteristic seven-ball duck by Murray Goodwin.

Goodwin’s dismissal was constructed by Daniel Lomax at the Symmons Street end, trapping the masterful ex-Zimbabwe Test batter in front after generating extra height during his stride and follow-through.

Late wickets by Fitt and Clarke ensured the visitors bowled out Colts for 94 at the end of the 38th over, with hopes of another finals appearance very much a strong possibility.