The Highveld Lions won the Standard Bank Pro20 competition in fine style on Friday night, beating the Cape Cobras by six wickets in the final at the Wanderers, thanks to a superb 73 by the Lions captain.
Neil McKenzie won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat. The Cobras appeared to have lost some of their venom, and lost wickets at regular intervals. At one stage, they were struggling on 54 for five in the eighth over. Only an undefeated 47-ball 56 by Vernon Philander gave the Cobras’ total some respectability. They finished their 20 overs on 147 for nine.
Garnett Kruger took three wickets for 32 for the Lions, and Tyron Henderson finished with the admirable figures of two for 19 off four overs. Friedel de Wet took two for 36, and Werner Coetsee and Eugene Moleon contributed a wicket each. Alviro Petersen took four very good catches.
Cobras skipper Alan Dawson struck a blow in the first over of the Lions reply, when he caught Petersen off his own bowling for two, but Blake Snijman and Neil McKenzie put the Lions firmly on the road to victory with a second wicket partnership of 79 before Snijman was bowled by Adam Bacher for 23. Bacher struck again in his next over, when Benji Hector caught Henderson for nine.
McKenzie notched up his fourth Pro20 half century. He played superbly, finding the gaps and leading from the front. He hit eight fours and a six, but with just two runs needed for victory, he skied a ball -‒ apparently attempting a boundary — and was caught by Henry Davids off Vernon Philander for 73 off 55 deliveries. He and Vaughn van Jaarsveld had a fourth wicket stand of 53 off 32 balls, and it was Van Jaarsveld took his team safely home, ending undefeated on 23.
It was perhaps fitting that three of the four Lions wickets to fall were taken by Dawson and Bacher -‒ both men were playing in their last match, and received a rousing cheer as they bade farewell to their careers as professional cricketers.
The crowd of nearly 23 000 -‒ many of them sporting the yellow of the home team -‒ were ecstatic as victory approached. It is the first silverware in the Wanderers trophy cabinet since Gauteng won the domestic 45-over competition in 2003/2004. It was also a record crowd for a domestic match at the Wanderers.
The match started on a sombre note, with a minute’s silence for slain Pakistan and former Proteas coach, Bob Woolmer. The players and match officials wore black armbands in honour of Woolmer, who was murdered in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, a week ago. – Sapa