Van Voorst unleashes fire and fury to lead Dragons to victory

Mieke van Voorst struck an unbeaten century to lead the Vertec Dragons to a 41-run victory against the Gryphons to win the inaugural Fire and Fury T20 women’s tournament at Hoërskool Hugenote in Springs, on September 7.

Van Voorst, who represented South Africa at the ICC U19 women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, struck 133 off 73, stitched with 14 boundaries and two sixes, to help the Dragons to 176/5 in their 20 overs.

“It was a difficult knock. The conditions were difficult. I backed myself to hit the ball hard. I kept it simple and stuck to my plan,” Van Voorst said.

Batting first, the Dragons started on the back foot with the loss of Rethabile Nkadimeng, run out by Leeyandrè Bentley for a duck with the second ball of the innings.

But Van Voorst and Rebecca McKelvey steadied the ship with a 60-run second wicket partnership before Tenique Williams had McKelvey caught at point by Robyn Dormehl, trying to clear the field.

Van Voorst continued her assault, reaching her half-century with a four off Dormehl with the last ball of the 11th over.

The Kempton Park resident stood tall, despite running short of partners after losing Hannelie du Plessis – trapped in front by Williams – Micaela Edward – caught by Williams off Dormehl – and Megan Meyer – bowled by Kiera Ferreira.

She reached her ton in the 19th over after stealing two runs off Dormehl before raising her bat in the air in celebration.

In response, the Gryphons lost three wickets in the first two overs – first Phumla Ndlovu was bowled by Edward, before Makgotso Sesing and Edward combined to run out Amogelang Molatlhwa with the last ball of the over.
Then Bentley was caught by Tsholofelo Marema off Sesing in the second over to leave the Dragons in trouble on 7/3.

But Dormehl and Cadence Labuschagne (19) wrestled back the momentum with 82 for the fourth wicket before Labuschagne was run out by Marema and Edward.

Despite losing partners at regular intervals, Dormehl struck a well-deserved victory, reaching the milestone in the 18th over before she was stumped by Du Plessis an over later. She departed for 101 off 75, which included 15 fours.

Besides Dormehl and Labuschagne, no other batter from the Gryphons reached double digits as they managed 136/9, falling 41 runs short of their target.

The tournament started on September 6, featuring four teams made up of players from the region. It was started to promote women’s cricket in Ekurhuleni, with Carmen Coppin and Shannon McKelvey as the event’s convenors.

“It was a wonderful tournament. The girls have grown a lot, and it’s nice to see this for women’s cricket. We are thankful to Carmen and Shannon for organising this. It’s great exposure for the girls,” added Van Voorst.

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