Sellout at WACA for Twenty20 match

Ryan Campbell helped Western Australia to a straightforward win against Victoria with an unbeaten 56 © Getty Images

There was a sellout crowd of 20,000 at the WACA for the first domestic Twenty20 game in Australia as Western Australia beat Victoria by eight wickets. It was the first time that a game at the WACA has been sold out since a one-dayer between Australia and West Indies in 1981.

Officials closed the gates at 6.45 pm, within half an hour of the start, and one woman, who had wanted to rejoin the rest of her family after parking the car, was denied entry. She was not alone. The presence of Shane Warne, whose shirt form the recent tsunami charity match received over 240 bids and sold for more than AUS$140,000 (approximately £57,000) at an auction on eBay, helped boost the attendance.

In the match itself, Luke Ronchi and Ryan Campbell clobbered their way to a century opening stand from only 56 deliveries to give WA a straightforward win after Victoria had managed 8 for 141 from their 20 overs. Ronchi was dismissed after scoring 67 from 24 balls, while Campbell was undefeated with 56. In Victoria's innings, Peter Worthington claimed 2 for 40 and Adam Crosthwaite had made 57 from 46 balls.

WA's captain Mike Hussey, who did not play this match but has taken part in Twenty20 cricket in England, before the start told the Sydney Morning Herald what players need to bring to this form of cricket. "I think there's still a role for playing some good smart cricket," he explained, "but you do need to make sure you have a couple of boundaries flowing at all times. From a bowling point of view it's really exciting: there's lots of bouncers and slower balls. But the big thing that comes out is the fielding. There's some fantastic catches taken and with balls flying everywhere."

It remains to be seen whether the popularity shown for this Twenty20 match is more than a one-off. On Thursday, Australia A will play the Pakistanis in the first international Twenty20 fixture at Adelaide.