Murphy, O’Neill dismantle Western Australia to end title hopes

Victoria 132 for 6 (Harper 59) beat Western Australia 108 (Murphy 4-27, O’Neill 3-12)

Western Australia’s hopes of winning a fourth straight one-day cup title are over after a rain-affected 15-run defeat to Victoria under the DLS method.

Todd Murphy and Fergus O’Neill shone with the ball for the hosts at the MCG on Wednesday, as they bowled out WA for 108 on a spicy pitch.

Sam Harper starred with the bat for Victoria, hitting 59 not out from 54 balls as they made 132 for 6 from their reduced allocation of 23 overs.

Set a revised target of 124, WA never got going with the bat. Captain Ashton Turner made 24 from 24 balls before he was caught behind off Murphy, but no other WA batter went past 20.

Cameron Bancroft continued his run of poor form after missing out on Test selection and was dismissed for 4 from 17 balls. Bancroft has only once scored more than 16 in his past 12 innings, a run that includes four ducks.

Rain delayed the start of the contest, initially reducing it to 46 overs per side. Victoria were reduced to 16 for 2 from 4.5 overs as Jhye Richardson and Lance Morris struck before the second rain delay.

When play resumed, Harper took a while to get going but picked up the pace as he hit five fours and three sixes as the anchor of the home side’s innings.

The win gives Victoria a 3-2 record, putting them right in the mix for a spot in the final, while WA (1-4) are out of contention. WA have won five of the past seven one-day cup titles and six of the past 10, including the last three in succession.