The famous St George’s Park brass band stationed at long-on — a new innovation at Buffalo Park — inspired the Warriors to beat the Cape Cobras by five wickets off the last possible ball of the match in a most exciting MTN Domestic Championship cricket match on Friday night.
Set a target of exactly 250 in their 45 overs at 5,6 runs an over, it seemed during the middle overs of the innings when the asking rate soared past eight an over that the visitors would win, but an enterprising innings by all-rounder Justin Kreusch, who scored a brisk 71 not out, ensured the win for the home side.
Kreusch came in and joined former Zimbabwe international Murray Goodwin, who had been batting solidly, and the pair added 81 in only 37 minutes off 65 balls to set up the win.
Earlier, left-hand opening batsman Colin Ingram had scored a bright 44 and he and his opening partner, HD Ackerman, got the Warriors off to a sparkling start, adding 44 in just more than eight overs before Ackerman was trapped in front by Alan Dawson for 22.
With 10 overs to go, 81 runs were needed with both Kreusch and Goodwin attacking the bowling. With three overs left, Dawson returned for his second spell, clean-bowling Goodwin with his third ball. Goodwin had scored a valuable 53.
With two overs to go, 19 were needed. Kreusch pulled Vernon Philander to fine leg for a boundary and altogether 12 were scored off the penultimate over, leaving just seven needed off the last over bowled by Dawson.
With four balls left, only five were needed and Craig Thyssen hit a ball past mid-on for a quick single.
Dawson bowled a wide to take some pressure off the batsmen and then the batsmen scrambled a leg-bye. Two were needed with two balls left. The crowd waited in anticipation as Dawson bowled to Thyssen. He smashed the ball to mid-on and the scores were tied with one ball left and Kreusch to face.
Dawson ran in. Kreusch pushed towards mid-off and ran. There was a run-out attempt that missed and the Warriors won off the last ball of the match.
Kreusch hit two huge sixes and five boundaries in his match-winning knock, which took only 50 balls.
Earlier, after winning the toss, the Cape Cobras scored 249 for four wickets in their 45 overs, with opener Andrew Puttick scoring a majestic 119 and Ashwell Prince an undefeated 61. The two added 99 for the third wicket in only 55 minutes off 99 balls and both batted aggressively throughout their respective innings.
Puttick faced 127 balls and slammed 14 fours in a chanceless innings in which he pierced the field at will. It was his second century of the season and the sixth of his career.
Prince went to his half-century off only 46 balls with four fours and a six, and was, like Puttick, always in control of a Warriors attack that lacked any bite.
Part-time spinner Arno Jacobs bowled well to take two important wickets, while J-P Duminy contributed 27 in a second-wicket partnership of 81 with Puttick. But it will be Kreusch’s great knock that will be long remembered.
Eagles prevail
At Supersport Park in Centurion, Diamond Eagles captain and wicketkeeper Morne van Wyk led from the front with a better than a-run-a-ball 41, four catches and a stumping, to help his team beat the Titans and keep their chances of a third consecutive limited-overs title alive on Friday.
Van Wyk and company got the better of the Titans by four wickets in their MTN Domestic Championship match, passing a total of 173 with only five balls to spare, although the result belies the closeness of the encounter.
On a largely reliable pitch of no great pace, attacking stroke play was not always straightforward, with both teams struggling to coax the ball off the square. But as Van Wyk; Rudolph, with an obdurate 60; and the Titans’ Farhaan Behardien showed, a batsman who was prepared to apply himself received due reward.
Earlier, Cliffie Deacon with figures of 9-3-21-3 and two wickets apiece for Dillon du Preez and Roger Telemachus did the most to restrict the Titans, and had them struggling on 97 for five at one stage.
The fact that the home side struggled was epitomised by a period of 11 overs during which they failed to find the boundary.
The only batsman to take the fight to the visitors was Behardien, who registered his maiden limited-overs half-century. The middle-order batsman’s 59 was struck off 73 balls and a straight six, which sailed over bowler Telemachus’s head. — Sapa