Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Mitchell Starc has ripped through Western Australia's batting line-up, taking four wickets for New South Wales to help bowl out the Warriors for just 151 in Wednesday's Ryobi One-Day Cup game at the WACA Ground.
Starc sent a timely message to the selectors who dropped him from Australia's Commonwealth Bank Series squad by leading an impressive Blues attack with 4-39 off 11.4 overs.
Just three days after the Warriors smashed NSW in their largest ever Bupa Sheffield Shield win by an innings, the visitors completely turned the tables in the clash between the bottom two one-day sides.
WA were bowled out in just the 43rd over for the fourth lowest total they've been bowled out for since the turn of the century, leaving the Blues needing just 3.04 runs per over to reach their modest target.
Debutant paceman Chris Tremain also performed well, taking 2-32 off 10, while Sean Abbott (2-48 off 11) and captain Stephen O'Keefe (2-25 off 10) chipped in with useful contributions for the Blues, who are in fifth place with just three wins for the year.
Only bowling all-rounder Nathan Coulter-Nile (53 not out off 70 balls) put up any serious resistance and prevented further humiliation for the hosts, who ended up posting a larger total than looked likely when they crumbled to 6-62 in the 21st over.
Shaun Marsh continued his lean run of form when he was dismissed for five, while fellow opener Wes Robinson left the hosts in a hole by scoring just 17 runs off the 55 balls he faced.
Marsh has now scored just 37 runs in his past four domestic innings, but his teammates in the top-order fared little better in the absence of injured duo Marcus North and Adam Voges.
The Blues made a perfect start after sending the Warriors in on an awkward batting deck, as Shaun Marsh cut straight to Steven Smith at backward point and Tremain trapped Birt lbw to leave the hosts at 2-12.
The hosts briefly consolidated through Wes Robinson and Liam Davis, even though their painfully slow batting saw them score just 43 runs in the first 15 overs, but it was all downhill from there.
Davis was caught behind off O'Keefe for 10 before Robinson (17 off 55 balls) and debutant Tim Armstrong were dismissed off consecutive balls and Craig Simmons (14) fell shortly after.
Luke Ronchi put on a 34-run seventh wicket stand with Coulter-Nile before he was caught behind off Tremain, who was wayward at times but largely impressive, and Michael Beer then fell for three and Starc wrapped up the tail.