Inspired by Man of the Match Luke Pomersbach, who blazed a superb 104 not out from 102 deliveries, the Warriors chased down their victory target of 234 in 39 overs and with five wickets down.

 

The Warriors have moved to second place on the Ford Ranger Cup table with 18 points from nine matches, one clear of Victoria (eight matches), New South Wales (eight) and South Australia (nine).

 

Tasmania is in last place on 16 points, and they will be the Warriors' next opponents in the Ford Ranger Cup at the WACA Ground on Wednesday 17 February. Queensland leads the competition with 21 points from eight games.

 

Redbacks Captain Daniel Harris, standing in once again for the injured Graham Manou, won the toss and had no hesitation batting first on a wicket that looked like it could offer early assistance for the bowlers, particularly with overcast conditions ahead.

 

Harris and the in-form Michael Klinger negotiated the opening stages successfully, putting on a 48-run opening stand before the skipper was sensationally run out for 35 from just 37 deliveries after brilliant pieces of fielding from Luke Pomersbach and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

 

Tom Cooper came to the wicket for the Redbacks fresh from belting a record-breaking 162 not out for the Prime Minister's XI against the West Indies in Canberra on Thursday, but his stay was brief – caught behind by Luke Ronchi from the bowling of Nathan Coulter-Nile for six.

 

Klinger and Mark Cosgrove steadied the ship with a 71-run third wicket partnership. The former brought up his 50 and looked set to carry on his tremendous form which has seen him notch centuries in his past two Ford Ranger Cup outings, but Marcus North sent him on his way for 51, stumped by Ronchi with the total on 137.

 

When Cosgrove followed soon after for 43, the visitors' innings capitulated. Cameron Borgas (31), Dan Christian (20), Aaron O'Brien (16) and Tim Ludeman (10) all reached double-figures, but none were able to post the sizeable total that the Redbacks needed.

 

After looking like they were headed for a total of around 300 at the halfway mark, the Warriors did well to restrict the South Aussies to 9-233 from their 50 overs. Ben Edmondson took 3-45 from ten overs in his first match for the state this summer, Coulter-Nile finished with 3-46 from his ten, and North was the other successful bowler, picking up 2-28 from eight.

 

The Warriors started the run chase cautiously through openers Wes Robinson and Liam Davis. The latter was dismissed for eight from 26 deliveries, and when Robinson followed two overs later for 26, the home side's season was teetering on the brink at 2-42.

 

Pomersbach and Adam Voges (17) put on 45 for the third wicket, and North carried on with the job by scoring 22 from 26 deliveries as the Warriors began to eye the bonus point.

 

Pomersbach upped the ante upon reaching his half-century, and he found a willing ally in Mitch Marsh (29 from 13 balls) as the effort to reach the victory target inside 40 overs was increased.

 

Luke Ronchi (six not out) saw the Warriors home alongside Pomersbach, who brought up his maiden domestic one day century with the finish line in sight. They secured the five points with six balls to spare.

 

The two teams back up on Monday with a Weet-Bix Sheffield Shield match getting underway at the WACA Ground. The WACA State Match Committee has named a 12-man Warriors team for the contest, with three changes from their last four-day outing which was also against the Redbacks just prior to Christmas.

 

Skipper Marcus North, opening batsman Liam Davis and batsman Luke Pomersbach come into the team for Shaun Marsh, who is on duty with the Australian one-day team in the Commonwealth Bank Series against the West Indies, along with leg-spinner Josh Mangan and opener Luke Towers.

 

The Redbacks have named left-arm paceman Gary Putland to make his first class debut, while Tom Cooper enters the Shield line-up to replace Mark Cosgrove who is out injured with a niggling wrist injury determined too high a risk to sustain four days of competition.