Blues go top of Marsh Cup after toppling WA

NSW have rocketed to top spot on the Marsh Cup table after posting a five-wicket bonus-point victory over defending champions Western Australia at the WACA Ground.

Player of the match Jack Edwards snared 3-14 as the Warriors were rolled for 161 in 39.1 overs in 41-degree heat on Thursday.

In reply, the Blues reached the victory target with a whopping 17.4 overs to spare courtesy of important knocks from opener Daniel Hughes (52 off 83 balls) and Oliver Davies (38 off 34 balls).

The result catapulted NSW (4-2) from third to first, while Western Australia's second loss of the season relegated them to second spot.

Both of WA's losses have been to the Blues, setting up an intriguing battle if the two powerhouses make the final.

Western Australia slumped to 7-89 after being sent in to bat before some late heroics from D'Arcy Short (47 off 53 balls) and AJ Tye (31 off 25 balls) lifted the home side to a defendable total.

Edwards caused the early damage, before off-spinner Chris Green (2-23) and Will Salzmann (3-18) joined in on the fun.

The wheels fell off early for WA as they slumped from 0-15 to 3-15 in the space of seven balls.

Sam Fanning was the first to fall when he struck Ben Dwarshuis to point.

Josh Philippe followed next over when Edwards found a leading edge.

Alarm bells were ringing for WA next ball when a rising Edwards delivery crashed into the left glove of Sam Whiteman and rebounded onto the stumps.

Cameron Bancroft (32 off 52 balls) helped steady the ship with a cautious knock, but his good work was undone when he was cramped by Edwards and edged behind.

Green then sent Ashton Agar and Cameron Gannon packing in consecutive balls to leave WA in dire straights at 7-89.

Short and Tye refused to go down without a fight, the duo striking some lusty blows in a 69-run partnership off 63 balls.

But just as the Warriors looked set to push on towards 200, Salzmann dismissed both Short and Tye within the space of three balls in the 38th over to end the home side's resistance.

The Blues slipped to 2-19 in their run chase after Edwards and Blake Macdonald fell to the impressive Gannon (2-24), but a strong knock from Hughes ensured there would be no major collapse.

Marsh Cup 2023-24 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Total points PTS
1 NSW Men NSW	7	5	2	0	0	0.33	0	2	22
2 Western Australia Men WA	7	5	2	0	0	0.543	0	1	21
3 Victoria Men VIC	7	5	2	0	0	0.232	0	1	21
4 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	7	3	4	0	0	-0.201	0	1	13
5 Queensland Bulls QLD	7	1	5	0	1	-0.735	0	1	7
6 South Australia Men SA	7	1	5	0	1	-0.327	1	0	5

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

PTS: Total points