Great Southern Cricket Association stars Want and Cristinelli secure Country Cup title with WA Invitational XI

A pair of Great Southern Cricket Association stars have played a key hand in WA Invitational XI’s Belt Up Country Cup eight-wicket triumph over Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association in Perth on Sunday. In a game marked by persistent showers, the Blue Swans could only manage a score of 102 at College Park in Nedlands that WA Invitational, featuring Tambellup’s Flynn Cristinelli and Kojonup’s Liam Want, tracked down with 143 balls to spare. After a consummate bowling performance from WA Invitational to roll BDCA, Keagan Lynch and Cristinelli made a circumspect start, scoring only 11 runs from the first five overs but found their rhythm by taking the same figure from the sixth over alone. The pair played all the strokes as part of an 82-run opening stand that set up the win for their side, with an audacious Cristinelli flick to the leg side off Liam Renton being the shot of the day. Bunbury and Districts’ Tim Hutchison (2-31 from six overs) grabbed the late consolation wickets of Cristinelli (36 from 63 balls) and Alex Cooke (seven from 18 balls), but WA Invitational chased the total down in the 26th over for the loss of only two wickets. Lynch was awarded player of the match honours for his unbeaten 45 from 75 deliveries, which featured seven boundaries. Earlier Bradman May top scored for Bunbury and Districts with 39 from 42 balls but the winners were spearheaded by Bryn Bursill (3-23) and Riley Stenhouse (3-4) who combined for six wickets. The GSCA pair had each previously played for the representative side on two occasions throughout this year’s Country Cup tournament.