picture: lonwabo marele
Kraaifontein Cricket Club played to a thrilling one-run victory over rivals, Ottoman Cricket Club, during a First Division A one-day match, at the Hassan Howa Pavilion, in Athlone, on Saturday.
A five-wicket haul from spinner and captain, Darryl Losper helped the team slow down Ottoman’s batting prowess, as he recorded 5/34 in 10 overs.
Losper dismantled Ottoman’s middle-order, while his teammate, Grant Isaacs had his fun with the top order batsmen.
Isaacs received a bowling figure of 2/33 after 10 overs.
Kraaifontein had a splendid day with the ball, however, their opening batsman, Robin Petersen, also had a good day with the bat scoring 45 runs from 94 balls, to help his team set a total of 154 runs in 48.4 overs.
With Ottoman opening their batting with the dangerous pair of Taariq Behardien and Tohir Abrahams, Kraaifontein had to work hard to limit them to 153 runs, which they did in 43.4 overs, all-out.
Ottoman’s Faheem Adams scored an undefeated 49.
Kraaifontein won the toss and elected to bat first and had an opening 70-run stance before Ottoman dominated the middle session.
Bowler Craig Ephraim said the opponents also had a good start with the bat, however, their middle-order bowlers, Isaacs and Sisonke Mazele got a breakthrough, and their captain, Losper picked up the fiver at a time they needed it the most.
“We still have an outside chance in the promotion. If we can win our next game against Rylands, and win the remainder of the games with bonus points, we have a good chance in the promotion,” said Ephraim.
“We have had a decent season. Some ups and downs. We have played good cricket but in patches. I think we can play better because it only gets better from here,” he said.
Ephraim said they are taking it one game at a time while building a family culture at the cricket club.
Meanwhile, neighbours, Brackenfell played two matches in the Premier League. They won by eight wickets against Victoria away on Saturday and lost by 87 runs to UCT away on Sunday.
UCT scored 247/9 after 50 overs. In return, Brackenfell was bowled out for 160 runs in 44.1 overs.
Brackenfell Vice-captain, Michael Loubser said they pitched up on Saturday with the right attitude, right energy and were ready to win.
“It’s hard to believe that Premier league cricket is still allowed to be played on Chucker Road as the pitch is in a very dismal state. It helped that we won the toss and took full advantage of the conditions,” he said.
Loubser said on Sunday, it was a great deck to bat on. UCT played good cricket in the first 20 overs, playing straight on a deck with minimal assistance for seamers.
Brackenfell had to take the pace off which put them back in the game. Joshua Coetzee (59 not-out), took to the end, which helped them from 128/5 to 247.
When it came to their turn to bat, Loubser said they were immediately under pressure with the top six, not firing points. He said a poor execution of their one-day skills did not reflect their capabilities.
“We could have done much better with the talent we have, we haven’t applied our minds correctly the whole season, and haven’t backed ourselves to play fearless cricket.
“Overall, we did play well in patches and did beat some top teams. We will still come out with the will to win the last two games to ensure a solid end to the season,” he said.
Loubser said Brackenfell has a simple approach, “you fit in with a community club where the money isn’t the driving force to play a game of club cricket. You pitch up to play for the badge through a win or loss.”
Brackenfell plays their next game at home, against UCT.