Uppers miss out on A and C-section final after losses in semis

Upper Great Southern Cricket Association have missed out on the chance to play in back-to-back A-section grand finals after losing their semifinal to Bunbury and Districts today. Upper Great Southern were looking for redemption after losing the A-section decider last year to Albany but were unable to get there this year. Upper Great Southern made it into Thursday’s semifinal after defeating West Pilbara on Wednesday. Uppers had the chance to make it to the decider but could only manage 5-190 batting first. Nick Corner (50) and Arron Quatermaine (47 not out) led the way but their side couldn't lift the run rate to get above 200. Bunbury and Districts led by Josh Richardson (70) always looked in control of the run chase at 3-156. Uppers showed great fight taking 5-9 to turn the game on its head but Bunbury and Districts were able to hold their nerve and finish on 8-194. Rodney Ford claimed four wickets. Uppers made their way into the semifinal after a convincing 89-run win over West Pilbara. Uppers had to win their match on Wednesday to make it into the semifinal and made a great start posting 6-258 first on the back of a superb 129 from Arron Quatermaine. Quatermaine smashed 14 fours and two maximums. West Pilbara were in early trouble at 5-44 and recovered slightly before being bowled out for 167. Grady Francis and Lewis Parsons both claimed three wickets. Upper Great Southern lost their first game to Busselton-Margaret River on Sunday before managing to defend their score of 144 in their second game against Eastern Goldfields on Monday. Batting first at Stevens Reserve, Uppers could only manage 144 after getting bowled out in 58th over as they stared down the barrel of consecutive losses. Experienced head Grady Francis claimed the first four wickets in the run chase to have Eastern Goldfields on the ropes at 4-54 before Rodney Ford and Arron Quatermaine joined the party to bowl their side towards victory. Eastern Goldfields were 7-90 but recovered well to require only seven runs to win with three wickets in hand. Ford cleaned-ripped Michael Worthington and then Arron Quatermaine sealed the victory with a double-wicket maiden to bowl them out for 137. Tom Blechynden (32) and Nick Corner (27) helped Uppers post 144 after being in early trouble at 7-87 on a tricky wicket. On Sunday, Busselton-Margaret River were able to chase down 224 for victory against Upper Great Southern. A half century from Dylan Kirk and 49 from Perrin Quatermaine helped Uppers reach 7-223. Busselton-Margaret River controlled the innings, passing the total five wickets down and posting 246 in reply despite a maiden country week five-wicket haul from Bailey Parsons. Parsons ending up with impressive figures of 5-45. Upper Great Southern’s second XI are playing in C-section and have narrowly missed out on playing in the decider. Uppers started the week with three straight wins before losing today’s semifinal to Peel. A brilliant 90 from Liam Want wasn't enough to help keep his side undefeated as they could only manage 178 batting first. Peel chased down the total five wickets down to hand Uppers their first loss and put them in a third fourth playoff game on Friday against Busselton-Margaret River. A century from opener Byron Blevin helped Uppers remain undefeated after Wednesday as he helped his side post 5-316. Blevin made 112 from 109 balls finding the fence 11 times and clearing the ropes once. A superb bowling performance against Wyalkatchem saw Uppers bowl them out for 47 and book their place in the semifinal. Andrew Harris claimed 4-11. On day one Busselton-Margaret River posted 9-218 from their 50 overs with David Head and Ben Mcmillan each claiming three wickets. Top-order batsmen Mcmillan (42), Blevin (37) and Want (30) all got starts to put Uppers ahead of the required run rate before a middle-order batting collapse. Despite some late resistance from the tail, Uppers finished 9-216. A terrific century from captain Rhett Ballard and quickfire half centuries to Want and Liam Sweeney helped them chase down Peel’s total of 9-144 with ease on Monday. Ballard belted 102 from 79 while Want 54 off 42 and Sweeney 50 off 57 helped their side post 284 in reply.