Western Australia have crashed to an embarrassing defeat against South Australia, despite a second-game seamer taking the best one-day bowling figures in the State’s history.
And in a nightmare start to their latest title defence, WA will return home from a trip to Sydney with a 0-2 record with just five regular season games to play.
Chasing 167 for their first victory of the season, WA lost 6-24 and their four wickets — including captain Ashton Turner — for just 14 runs in their clash at Cricket Central on Tuesday.
Turner survived a massive appeal for a stumping off Ben Manenti’s bowling with just six runs to win, but was caught-behind trying to cut the very next ball. Bryce Jackson, who was the hero with the ball, was the last man out, stumped by Harry Nielsen off Manenti.
The two-run win ends a run of 11 straight defeats for South Australia to the three-time reigning champions.
Jackson took 6-31 from nine overs in a stunning breakout innings that tore through South Australia’s top order.
He took 3-12 from his first four overs and later found himself on a hat-trick, claiming the prized wicket of Daniel Drew, who was the glue that helped them limp to 166.
Jackson, a 24-year-old paceman from Albany, played just one domestic game last year — a one-dayer against Tasmania where he took three wickets.
The towering quick replaced veteran left-armer Jason Behrendorff in the side for the second match and was joined by Lance Morris, who took the spot of the closely-managed Jhye Richardson.
Jackson’s figures rocket to the top of WA’s charts, ahead of teammate Andrew Tye’s 6-46 against Queensland in 2018, which is the only other six-wicket haul for the State.
D’Arcy Short was out for a rare diamond duck when Cam Bancroft called him through for a single he fell short of. His opening partner fell soon after for four, before Sam Whiteman and Hilton Cartwright put on 76 between them.
Ashton Turner made 53 of 54, including a giant six he pulled out of the ground off McAndrew, to lead his side to the cusp of victory.
New WA recruit Baxter Holt struggled with the bat for a second straight match, dismissed for five after making just two against his former State last week.
Matt Kelly fell for four and Tye for a duck in the collapse. Nathan McAndrew took 5-40 from 10 overs.
