Rampant Ronchi sets up WA win
Cameron White plucked four wickets for Victoria as they consigned Queensland to their first defeat in the competition - by the slender margin of 11 runs
Cricinfo staff
17-Dec-2004
Western Australia 262 (Hussey 69, Ronchi 75*) beat South Australia 255 (Blewett 83) by seven runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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A quickfire 83 from Greg Blewett was not enough to save South Australia who fell seven runs short of Western Australia's 262 in this ING match at the Adelaide Oval. Graham Manou and Mark Cleary each notched scores in the thirties to take the visitors close, but their efforts were not enough.
Luke Ronchi and Mike Hussey led the charge as Western Australia recovered from a mini-collapse. WA looked in trouble at 3 for 46, as they lost three wickets in three overs - and they slumped further, to 5 for 66, before the rampant Ronchi entered the fray - and bullied the bowlers in fine style. He blasted 75 from 64 balls during a merciless rampage while Hussey played the perfect counterfoil, as he anchored up the other end on his way to a sturdy 69. Ronchi eventually fell on 75, edging through to Manou, who picked up five catches in the match, but Hussey continued his stable effort before Dan Cullen trapped him in front. But by this time WA were 7 for 243 and their tail added enough to just keep victory out of SA's grasp.