Warriors move to second with easy win

Western Australia 5 for 152 (Robinson 34, Pomersbach 32) beat Victoria 8 for 128 (Knowles 3-30) by 24 runs
Scorecard

Western Australia have kept their dreams of a Champions League Twenty20 berth alive with a comfortable 24-run win over Victoria at the WACA. In a low-scoring affair on a sluggish pitch, bereft of grass, it was the Warriors' bowlers who dominated proceedings to stifle the Bushrangers' pursuit of 153.

It was the type of track where scoring would get progressively harder as the ball got softer, and the Bushrangers dug themselves into a huge hole at 2 for 27 after six overs. Firstly Brad Knowles (3 for 20) and then Man-of-the-Match Ashley Noffke (2 for 23) summed up the conditions well using a mixture of pace and slower ball bouncers to foil the Bushrangers artillery in Brad Hodge, Matthew Wade, and David Hussey.

Aaron Heal (2 for 20) then continued his superb form, spinning the ball sharply to claim big-hitters Cameron White and Dwayne Bravo with miscues, to leave the Victorian tail with too much to do and too little time to do it.

Earlier the Warriors had given the Bushrangers a blueprint of how their innings should've been approached. The WA openers Wes Robinson (34) and Shaun Marsh (19) raced to 51 after six overs before Victoria reeled them back through the left-arm orthodox of Jon Holland (2 for 27). Dirk Nannes' second spell was arguably the best of the day removing the dangerous Luke Ronchi and Luke Pomersbach at a cost of just five runs in two overs to pull the Warriors innings to a grinding halt at 5 for 152.

It was a score that seemed below par given the electric start but the Bushrangers proved the formula of 'runs on the board' is still a key in any form of limited-overs cricket by mistiming their run chase badly to fall 24 short at the close.

The result catapulted the Warriors to second on the table, despite losing their first two matches, while Victoria are in danger of missing the finals for the first time in this competition's history.