Western Australia’s team lost eight wickets in just one run against Tasmania. This one run also came through a wide ball. In this way, the historic collapse of wickets put Western Australia’s dream of defending the one-day cup in danger.
In the match played at the WACA ground, Western Australia’s team was all out for just 53 runs in 20.1 overs. Tasmania’s bowler Webster took six wickets for 17 runs in his six-over spell. Six batsmen of Western Australia were dismissed for a duck.
Western Australia had lost just two wickets for 52 runs in 16 overs. But what happened after that was historic. Western Australia lost eight wickets in just 28 balls. This meant that Western Australia, who were 52 for 2, were all out for 53 runs, and none of the batsmen from 5 to 11 could score any runs.
Out-of-form Cameron Bancroft was the first to fall in this collapse. He was lbw to Webster’s ball. Three balls later, Ashton Turner was also lbw to Webster’s ball, and on the very next ball, Josh Inglis was bowled by Stanlake. After that, Cooper Connolly, Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, and Joel Paris all got out for a duck, which led to a disastrous end to Western Australia’s innings.
This was the second-lowest score in the history of the one-day cup. In 2003, South Australia had scored 51 runs against Tasmania in Hobart. Tasmania achieved this small target in just 8.3 overs and won by seven wickets, also earning a crucial bonus point.
Western Australia’s (WA) bid to win the title for the fourth consecutive time is now in danger. With one win and three losses, WA needs to win their remaining three matches against Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland, and also hope that the results of other matches go in their favor.
