Lake View break through for belated win against Hannans

Lake View grabbed some respite from a horror defence of the Eastern Goldfields Cricket Association’s A-grade flag with a nail-biting victory by a run over Hannans on Saturday that snapped an eight-match losing run.

Without a win since round five, the Viewers broke through by defending 142 on the deeds of Luke Boxhall and Corey Johnston, who combined for six wickets.

Boxhall led the way with an economical 3-19 off 9.5 overs that included two maidens at an economy rate of 1.93.

Johnston grabbed 3-28, and player-coach Matt Carter chimed in with 2-24 off 10 overs before Jackson Brown snared the wicket of Anthony Babic that sealed the win.

The accuracy of the Viewers attack frustrated Hannans when Ash Malec faced 56 deliveries for his 21 and Brandon Williams’ 31 was carved off 51 balls.

Batting at No.9, Babic’s 24 came off 46 balls as Hannans slumped to a third consecutive defeat in dramatic fashion.

Earlier, George Burrows led Lake View’s batting with 40 runs off 54 balls and vice-captain David Forrest struck five fours and a six among his 29 runs off 36 balls.

Johnston contributed a handy 11 runs off nine deliveries as Stuart Kennedy picked up 3-29.

It was a welcome victory for Lake View, who are already out of finals contention heading into this weekend’s clash with North Kalgoorlie to finish the qualifiers.

Despite the loss, Hannans are five games clear with one qualifying match left — ahead of an elimination final clash against North Kalgoorlie on March 16.

The winner of that match will play Great Boulder in the grand final on March 23.

It has been an inconsistent campaign for Hannans after winning the opening two matches and racking up three straight wins between rounds six and eight.

But the past six matches have yielded just one victory.