Marsh brothers hand Warriors big win

Western Australia 1 for 198 (S Marsh 108*, Robinson 54) beat New South Wales 71 (M Marsh 4-6) by 127 runs
Scorecard

A scintillating 53-ball century from big-hitting Shaun Marsh led Western Australia to a convincing win over New South Wales at the WACA. Former Australian opener Geoff Marsh watched from the stands as son Shaun hit the Blues attack to all corners, racking up a 168-run Big Bash record-partnership (for any team and any wicket) with fellow-opener Wes Robinson.

So swift was Shaun's second fifty that when he reached his hundred, Robinson was on just 54 - having beaten Shaun to the half-century mark.

The Blues bowlers had started steadily through Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc, backed up by some darting offspinners from Dominic Thornely, and had restricted the hosts to 87 off the first 12 overs. However, when Thornely exited the attack, Marsh unleashed fury on Dwayne Smith, Moises Henriques, and the often wayward Aaron Bird.

He blasted six fours and the same number of sixes, including several effortless drives over long-off as the Warriors set the Blues an imposing target for victory.

The visitors came out swinging with David Warner falling early to a good catch by Luke Pomersbach at cover from a lethal cut shot. Usman Khawaja fell shortly after trying to pull Michael Hogan and when Henriques was bowled trying to loft Brad Knowles, the Blues looked in dire straits.

Aaron Heal ended a mini fightback from Steve Smith and Phil Jaques, dismissing them in consecutive balls and when Mitchell Marsh was handed the ball for the first time in Twenty20 cricket, the visitors were in for a tough time. The younger Marsh brother showed he's got plenty of talent with the ball, regularly hitting the mid-130s kph, and gave father Geoff even more to smile about, taking 4 for 6 in just 2.2 overs to wrap up a comprehensive win.

The Warriors moved to third on the table and will host Victoria on Sunday night, while the Blues dropped back to fifth (with a net run-rate of -1.667) with home matches against Queensland and South Australia to come.